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morallyinept · 4 months

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A full transcribe of MAX LORD'S dialogue/lines from the film WONDER WOMAN 1984

Includes full dialogue, and dialogue from any deleted/additional scenes available.

I've created this as a point of reference when writing for Pedro's characters, and I hope you find it useful. Even if you just want to read the dialogue. 🖤

FULL MASTERLIST OF PEDRO CHARACTERS DIALOGUE

☝🏻Dialogue has been fully transcribed by myself using reference to original scripts (if available), audio subtitles and using my own two ears. Therefore, mistakes can be made, however I have tried to be as fully accurate as I can. If you spot an obvious mistake, please kindly let me know. Where audio is not clear, I have marked with *inaudible* Scenes are separated for ease of reference.

FULL SCRIPT DIALOGUE:

Welcome to the future. Life is good, but it can be better. And why shouldn’t it be? Everything we’ve ever dreamed about is right at our fingertips. But are you reaping the rewards? Do you… have it all?

Welcome to Black Gold Cooperative. The first oil company run for the people, by the people. Think about finally having everything you’ve always wished for.

For a low monthly fee, you can own a piece of the most lucrative industry in the world. And every time we strike gold, you strike gold.

No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you deserve to have it all. Do you have everything you’ve ever wanted? Aren’t you tired of always wishing you had more? Join me today. Operators are standing by. You don’t need a pile of money or some business degree to get started. You don’t even have to work hard for it.

At Black Gold Cooperative, all you need is to want it.

__________________

A pleasure, Ms. Minerva.

No.

Life is good, but it can be better!

“The oil guy,” I’ll take it.

Well, what can I say, doctor. Your reputation precedes you. And apparently we share a passion for gemology.

What?

I'm right here! Haha!

Life is good, but it can be better. Hahaha!

Well, I have a great relationship with Sears. I can get you a brand-new TV by the end of the day. Nineteen inches. No strings attached.

Okay.

It's going to be an amazing party. I hope you have something nice to wear.

I agree. Except, I like to party.

You like Latin dancing?

Really? No, I doubt that you’re a terrible dancer, the shape that you're in.

You know, I really should be going. Thank you for the tour. I will have to see you tonight.

Thank you, John.

__________________

Ladies. Not now, Raquel. My supplements?

How? How! Yes, clearly. Alistair.

It's not done yet, buddy. But it doesn't matter. You just have to be patient. I told you the pool, the helicopter, you’ll have it all. But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, was it? No.

Well, it takes time to become a great, great, number-one man like your dad is going to be.

Simon. These offices aren’t ready for guests yet.

Alistair, go wait with Raquel.

Simon. I know it's hard to see right now, but we are finally at the edge of turning this thing around.

No! I have a big… there’s something in the works. And it’s no scheme. Simon, we have millions of acres of potentially oil-rich land.

I am not a con man! I'm a television personality. And a respected businessman with a plan. With… with… a great plan.

You’re going to regret this.

Simon, wait. Simon.

I am not a loser! He’s a loser. And don’t you ever believe a word that man said, he’s a liar and he’s wrong. And he will rue the day he walked away from me. And you. And you are going to be so proud to be my son. You’ll see. Everyone will.

__________________

Dr. Minerva. You look breathtaking.

Mmm.

Biotin. You should try it. Makes you glow like a teenager. Reverses the clock. Never accept limitations of nature.

Especially not a beautiful woman like you.

God, it’s so loud in here.

Can we go somewhere? Just me and you?

Hmm… your office?

__________________

Oh, wow! Look at all this stuff. It’s so… It’s so beautiful. Like you. What is that?

Wow.

Let me help you. Max is here. No need to be stumped ever again. I have a dear friend in Roman antiquities. Could give it a look, if you like? It is Latin, isn’t it?

__________________

“One great wish.” I’ve been waiting. I wish to be you, the dream stone itself.

__________________

Thank you, Belinda.

I’ll have your money, Simon. Today I’m here for an apology.

I’m sorry. I messed up. I messed up. I lied. And I'm sorry. You know the truth is, I knew we were going to sink a long time ago, the wells were coming up dry. And no data suggested that was going to change. I should have folded then. But all the people that bought in, that believed in me... I wanted to do right.

Simon, don’t you understand that I wished for better? That with every ounce of my being, I wished that Black Gold would change the world for all of us. And I know you wished that too.

Then your wish is granted. And in return I’ll take all of your shares… and full control of Black Gold after you are somehow magically removed from my path… forever.

Ow.

__________________

My word. Are we in danger?

Raquel? Raquel?!

Raquel?

Which ones?

I'll get you help. Tell me again. You wish you had more help?

Emerson. Yes, you’re hired too!

I’ll take it in my office. And bring me my vitamins.

__________________

To meet a peer.

On my journey to self-fulfilment, I lucked into a secret. The secret of the wish. So I wished for it. Or someone wished for it for me. Tell me what you wish for, your highness. And I will show you how it works.

Like what?

You wish for that?

Your wish is granted. And in return I will take your oil.

Then I will take your security team and leave you here with nothing to defend yourself against the wrath you will most certainly face.

__________________

You’re looking at it.

Whoa!

__________________

So who’s the next closest person with oil?

Like I want any of these people in the club anyway. Can’t we tell them they’re not invited?

Oh, the FCC. The BBB, the FBD. It’s a conspiracy against my success. They’re jealous, that’s why. Who’s next?

Send in Mr Zhong, please. And buy Alistair a pony. No! A race car. Get him a race car. Get him a race car.

Alistair? Again? How many weekends do I have-

What? What? When? Tonight?

Let’s get to it, Lai. Tell me, what do you want? What do you wish for?

Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.

And you need… what do you wish for?

__________________

Consider the sex tape gone. And God darn it if I have to keep doing this one by one by one by one… How's your health? Forget that. But I will take your entire congregation and your time slot. Let me ask you, when they pray, is there any way I could get all of them to join hands with me and simply say "I wish" rather than "I pray?" Would that even work? I need to find a way to touch a lot of people at the same time.

Oh, God! This isn't working. Bring in someone new. And my son. You, beat it.

No! You don’t use your one wish like that, Alistair. You don't wish for something that you already have. You wish for greatness, for success. That’s why I’m doing all of this. Don’t you see that my greatness is your greatness? Huh?

Alistair! I’ve missed you, buddy! Come, sit down with daddy. I’m sorry. But your dad is on the absolute precipice of everything. Remember when I told you that I would be number one? Do you remember? Your dad? Well I’m inches away.

Huh? I know it's hard, I know. But listen, I also know what you wish for, and I wish for it, too. Do you hear that? I wish for it, too.

No. No!

Thank you. I love you so much and I promise you one day everything is going to make sense and one day you'll thank me. But right now I need you to stay here with Emerson. You stay here. I’ll be right back.

__________________

You. You! Don’t you wish I had an audience with the President today?

Wait a minute? Have I asked for your wish before?

What is it with you aides and Porsches?

__________________

You!

How’s traffic?

Don’t you wish it wasn’t? And that everywhere you went parted like the great Red Sea?

__________________

Everything okay, Mr President?

Exactly that, Mr President. These hectic days, hectic times. And you.

You’re having some troubles?

Mmm.

It’s not money I’m offering. You… You are a man of faith and I have been very blessed lately. I want to share my blessing with you. The power of positive thinking. Now… tell me, Mr President. What do you need? And you’re not speaking to me here, but to the universe. What do you wish for?

A nice thought. And I grant you… ah, oh…oh my… And you’d know what I’d like? I would want all of your power, influence, authority. All the respect you command, and the command everyone must respect.

Ahahaha! I mean, what else is there? Now, tell your people I would appreciate absolutely no interference whatsoever. No taxes, no rule of law, no limits. Treat me like a foreign nation with absolute autonomy.

What’s this?

So what does that mean, you’re taking over everyone’s TV’s? How?

You said “touches”? As in the particles you are sending are touching everything?

I need immediate access to this satellite. And a chopper to get me there.

__________________

Well, aren’t you resourceful?

No, I don't think so. Remove this woman, please. Permanently.

__________________

Oh, how sweet, defending your love, huh? What do you wish for? Do you wanna be a real boy?

__________________

Everyone stand down. Nobody hurts her.

__________________

You made a wish too, huh? Ahahahaha. They’re a bitch, aren’t they? Make you pay a price, but I’ve never been one for rules. Luckily, I have a way to reverse it. The answer is always more.

But I, my dear, grant the wishes. So I take what I want in return. There’s nothing in this world someone doesn't have. I’ll rebuild my health wish by wish, organ by organ, if I have to. I'll be invincible. Tell me what do you want? I’m feeling generous.

I like the way you think. Go on.

__________________

You heard we were coming, I presume.

How many broadcasting signals can I take over at once?

I’ll take all of them.

And I sure wish this works for me. Don’t you?

Lights, camera…

__________________

Citizens of the world, allow me to introduce myself. I am Max Lord, and I'm here to change your life. All you have to do… is make a wish. Anything you want. Anything you dream of, you can have it. If you can dream it, you can achieve it, so just look into my eyes and make a wish. Anything you dream of, have it. Right now. Do you want to be rich? Do you want to be powerful? Say it out loud! Look around you! Make your wish! Take what's yours! Whatever you want, you can have it!

Wish for It. Anything you want.

Anything you dream of, have it.

Yes, I hear it, I hear you. Yes, say it. Say it out loud. That’s right, I wish. Take it! Take it! It’s all yours, it’s all yours for the taking! And I… I take your health, and your strength. Give her your rage, and your prowess. And I take your power. I take your life force. Yes. Yes! That's right! You're doing great.

It’s all yours. All you have to do is wish for it!

That's right. Just wish for it. It’s yours now. All you have to do is say it out loud. Make a wish. Any wish. Look into my eyes and everything you've been waiting for, it’s all yours.

You're too late.

Granted. Granted. Granted. Granted! Granted! Why not more, why not wish for more? We want what we want, just like you did. So make a wish. Very good.

Granted.

It's too late, Diana. They already heard me. Already wished. And those that haven’t yet… ahahaha! Oh, they will!

Granted. Granted. Granted. Poor Diana. Why be such a hero? You could have kept your pilot, and your powers. If only you'd joined me. Wanna reconsider? Hahahaha! I’m a forgiving man! Hahahah! You want him back? Just say the word. You can have it all! You just have to want it!

Why would I when it’s finally my turn? The world belongs to me! You can’t stop me, no-one can!

Stop! Cut the signal, stop!

Alistair! Alistair! Alistair!

Wait, my son. I can see my son! I have to save my son. Alistair. My… Alistair. I renounce my wish!

__________________

Alistair! Alistair! Alistair!

Alistair! Alistair.

Oh, Alistair, Alistair. I'm so sorry, baby.

No. That is not why I'm back. No. I’ve been lying to you. I’m not a great guy. In fact, I’m a pretty messed up, loser guy. And I made terrible mistakes. But you… you don’t ever have to make a wish for me to love you. I’m here because I love you. I just… I just wish and pray that one day, I’ll be able to make you proud enough that you’ll be able to forgive me. And love me. Because I’m nothing to be proud of, Alistair.

__________________

FULL MASTERLIST OF PEDRO CHARACTERS DIALOGUE

#pedro pascal #maxwell lord #pedro pascal characters #maxwell lord wonder woman 1984 #womnder woman 1984 #PPCU #maxwell lord dialogue

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cherryblossomshadow · 3 years

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Wonder Woman 1984 review

Long, rambly, and spoilery. You’ve been warned.

I saw WW84. I had thoughts. Let's talk about it.

I want to preface with the fact that it's amazing that we have another female-led superhero film! I loved Patti Jenkins' work with the first Wonder Woman (and this one too) and I'm so glad she's back for this one. There's obviously a lot to pick through, but first, a couple reminders.

No film will ever be "perfect."

Not every film is made specifically for you.

It is okay to vibe or disvibe with something. But that does not make it trash.

Also, please, keep in mind, what I'm expressing are my opinions. I'm entitled to mine as you are entitled to yours. I hope you have a lovely time on the internet, and I hope you wish the same for everyone you interact with.

Oh, and spoilers obviously.

Okay, with all that out of the way, let's dig in.

My overall experience with the film is positive! I had a great time watching it, it got me emotional, and I definitely want to watch it again. That said, I don't think it's better than the first one (although that would have been quite a feat), and that's ok. It's a continuation of a story we've already started, and it doesn't need to outshine the first.

Okay, after all the hyping up and disclaiming I've done, let's dig into what I didn't like about the film.

Number one is pacing. The storyline felt very erratic to me? Part of that, I feel, is because we have three (four?) main characters, and we jump between them pretty abruptly.

Number two is the themes. Now I do like the themes of WW84 (truth and sacrifice), I just don't think they were worked into the film as cohesively as I would have liked?

Number three is perceived character changes to Diana. And really, some of this is kinda circumstantial, I just thought it deserved its own bullet point. You'll see what I mean.

So, on Pacing.

We jump between Diana (and Steve), Barbara, and Maxwell pretty frequently. And before I talk about that, I have to talk about my view on the characters.

a. Now, I love the Mandalorian, but I was not personally invested in Maxwell's arc at all. Again, this is my take, and I know people disagree. Many people feel like Pedro Pascal carried the film on his shoulders. That's cool. He's a great actor. I'm glad he was in it. I just kinda checked out of every scene he was in (when he wasn't with his kid) because I wasn't invested in him. He played a sleazeball on purpose, and it worked. I was sleazed. So the movie kinda dragged for me whenever the camera panned to him.

b. I loved the focus on Barbara. I don't know Cheetah from the comics, so this is from a movie-only perspective. But I know one of the criticisms of the first film was that Diana didn't really talk to women after she left Themyscira (even though there was a perfectly good villainess sitting right there for her to converse with and have morality debates/fights with! Even Steve Trevor got to talk to Dr Poison!), so I thought it was great that 1) they set up a villainess for her to fight and 2) it was a villainess that she knew, she had talked to, she had formed a relationship with. It honestly surprised me that Barbara was helpful for so long (bc I had seen the trailer and got spoiled that she would become a villain), but I love that she genuinely did want to help Diana, up until she hit her hard limit (giving up her powers). Now, that being said, the Nerd Girl Makeover has been done a thousand times. I knew what her vague trajectory would be from the second she appeared on screen with frizzy hair. I did like that her motivation was not solely "pretty people are mean to me, and I want revenge and/or for this hot guy to like me," but specifically, "I want to be like this really cool girl" and then "I don’t want to be like anyone else; I want to be the best/number one" for myself." But I felt like the absolute inattention that she was shown at the beginning and the absolute worship Diana and later Barbara would get was ... highly exaggerated? And I know this was another criticism of the first film, that yeah "Diana did so well in the real world because SHE'S HOT and that's actually not empowering to women" or something. But like. Watching that part made me uncomfortable instead of seen. Pandered to, instead of impacted. Showing how looks change how society treats you is important, but not to this caricaturized degree.

c. (and d?) And lastly, Diana and Steve. Or more accurately, Diana and Steve's soul or memories or ??? that has been transplanted into some random man's body with absolutely no one's consent (I don't believe that Diana "consented" when making the wish, because she didn't know 1. That it would even work or 2. HOW it would work.). So ... Yeah. The first problem with this (chronologically, not by importance) is that it's really unclear what's going on? Some rando is reciting Steve's lines from the first film, then all of a sudden he turns into Chris Pine? (Fun fact: my aunt actually recognized the actor from Hallmark 😂 Could you imagine being the guy who gets replaced by Chris Pine for half the movie? Like "yeah, I played Steve Trevor, but they had Chris Pine do all the important parts" 😂😂😂). So, Diana and Steve finally figure out that he's inhabiting some engineer's body because of the wish she made. And then they bang. Or do they bang before they figure it out? Either way, yikes 😬. Not a good look.

To be clear, the yikes part is that Steve is inhabiting Engineer Dude's body without their consent (without his own either tho so that part's not really his fault), but then he chooses to do things sexually with that body that Engineer Dude didn't consent to (because he's like, literally not home. Whether he's been subsumed into Chris Pine or taken out or dormant or whatever). Oh, and then like, probably doing death-defying stunts with his body is also yikes. I'm not really sure what the rules around body possession are. Cuz you know.

Anyway, that is a huge issue that is literally not addressed. At all.

Again, I think they may have been trying to address some criticisms from the first film about Diana "getting rid of the dreaded V-card so quickly in Wonder Woman and then pining after Chris Pine (lol) for the rest of her long life" and how that sets back female sexuality and stuff. Which I get. They actually lampshaded it in WW84, how Chris Pine wants her to move on because "the world deserves her." Which I know what they were going for in the scene, but I feel like they didn't flesh out the journey from Hippolyta's "the world doesn't deserve you Diana" to Steve's "the world deserves you (to date them)" enough. But I digress.

I'm gonna talk a little bit more about the possession and that "the world deserves/doesn't deserve you" line in my Themes section, but honestly? From the previews, I assumed that Chris Pine was revived from the dead via time travel or something. Body possession was NOT in the the trailers. I think the Dreamstone could have created a body for him out of nothing. Or like "time-traveled" him into the future. So like. Why didn't they? Why introduce body possession at all? So they could make fun of the dude's clothes?

Okay, back to the pacing part of the pacing section. These three (four?) characters have completely different things going on in their lives (I actually forgot to talk about Maxwell, but he wants to "be the best," and he's gonna do it by giving people what they think they want (maybe) and then taking from them whatever he wants. Yeah idk). And all three do interact at the beginning (brownie points) even if the attempted seduction of Barbara by Maxwell makes me want to throw up. But the themes aren't worked in as cohesively as I would have liked, and the tone changes were jarring, as the film switched between them all.

Another facet of the movie is that the Dreamstone is kind of a mystery. And that was a deliberate Choice™, not a mistake. We're guessing at what the rock is doing and how and why and by who and all that stuff, and that's on purpose, but that makes for a confusing experience. Their approach is to throw something confusing at you and then explain it later. Which is great for worldbuilding. But not always for the Movie-Watching Experience™. So to recap, we're switching tracks and characters with their own separate stories while also setting up several confusing plot points that take a while to unravel. This all contributes to the Experience™, good or bad.

Honestly, I wonder how much Covid affected this movie? My dad felt like a lot of scenes probably got cut for various reasons, and it probably affected the flow of the movie. If so, it could have affected thematic coherence, too. Speaking of...

So, Themes.

The themes that I got out of this film were Truth and Sacrifice. Maybe I missed some; I'm not an experienced Media Critic™. But these are the ones I noticed.

And actually, these themes are really strong. Universally applicable, and used in all three character arcs. It's just tied in a bit ... erratically?

So working backward, knowing that the Dreamstone is giving you a lie, you need to renounce your wish and accept the Truth™. This is echoed in Diana's flashback, where she needed to accept that she didn't win.

Working backward again, Sacrifice was a big part of the story for all three characters because Diana was willing to sacrifice her power to keep Steve, but he wanted her to sacrifice him so she could save the world. Barbara was willing to sacrifice her "humanity" or "empathy" or whatever she lost for the power and influence she got by emulating Diana, and she was unwilling to sacrifice that to save the world. Maxwell was willing to sacrifice time with his son to "become the best," but he did sacrifice that to save his son's life.

And then, full circle, he confessed to his son that he wasn't the best, he's actually a filthy liar. Which, yes, kudos for the themes, be honest with your children, but you can still sanitize it a bit. That speech alone would have traumatized the kid.

Speaking of speeches, Antiope's speech confused me in a similar way? Like, she stops Diana from "winning" the tournament after cheating, and goes on this weird rambly rant which goes from "accept that you're not a winner" to "cheating is bad and so is lying." Which yes, cheating is bad, but it's weird that she wouldn't have been disqualified at this point for not shooting that last target? Like, did she need to be tackled? Idk, I felt like they came up with the line they wanted Antiope to say first, and then just made her say it. (And also, in other stories, Diana would have been praised for being "clever" and "never giving up without a fight." So like, I needed a bit more preparation for which take they were going for, because the anti-cheating spiel felt jarring to me.)

And again, I wonder if this is a response to a criticism of this first film. (Warning: WW17 rant gearing up)

When Diana has her big motivational flashback during her fight with Ares, she thinks about Steve, this dude she just met a week ago, saying he loved her. When she could have been thinking about literally any of the women who had raised her. I personally think it would have been cool to hear some of Antiope's words at that point. Since they set up Hippolyta and Antiope to have conflicting ideas over whether Diana should fulfill her humanity-saving destiny, it might have been cool to see her saying something about humans and how they need her or how she should help them or something. They could even have done the whole thing with not being able to hear Steve's last words, but with Antiope since she dies earlier in the film and doesn't finish speaking. I also think it would have been cool for them to expand Hippolyta's earlier line about "They don't deserve you, Diana," here to like "They need you, Diana," or something. And then Steve's line in WW84 could have been something like "They're with you, Diana," or "They could get to know you, Diana," and her character arc could have been about actually living among society and maybe getting to know these humans that she's saved so many times (which they kind of alluded to when she and Barbara had their little date at the beginning of the film). But I digress.

So, yeah, I found both of these speeches to be ... Not great? Like I can tell what they're going for and how they tie into the themes, but they're so heavy-handed and they don't actually fit in too well to the moment they happen in. Like as soon as the speech starts, you realize that they started going meta on you. The character isn't really speaking to the other character, they're speaking to us, and they're telling us how this scene ties into the greater themes of the film.

Oh and they have this great quote from Antiope "greatness is not what you think" and then Maxwell's son wishes for him to be "great." And they do nothing with it :(

As promised, I want to talk about the body possession a little bit more. So again, one of the recurring themes is Truth™. Which is a great choice for Wonder Woman, what with her Lasso of Truth.

But it's tied in a bit haphazardly. They force it into a conversation about cheating in a flashback at the beginning of the film. And then they talk about how you need to accept the Truth™ in order to defeat the Dreamstone. I already talked about the cheating, and how the "accept that you're not a winner" was kind of a weird path to take to get your point across to a ten year old girl.

But the Dreamstone. Oh, the Dreamstone. I said before that the movie is a mystery. It shows you things but doesn't explain them. Well, this is a bit of a problem. Because they never actually explain that the Dreamstone is giving you lies. To my eyes, the Dreamstone is changing reality. Steve is back, Barbara is powerful, and Maxwell is doing whatever he wants with the powers of the Dreamstone. THIS DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A LIE TO ME. THERE IS NO "TRUTH" TO ACCEPT, JUST YOUR NEW REALITY. And that made the film less thematically strong (to my eyes, anyway. Other people probably picked up on stuff I didn't). But I feel like this might have been an easy fix? Like you already have Chris Pine in someone else's body (oh! So that's why they chose body possession! Because he's a Lie™! ... Still don't like it) I still think he should have manifested his own body or something but whatever. Barbara's appearance hardly changed at first. If they had people reacting to her as if she was hot when she really looked the same as she always does, then I would have bought your "but the Dreamstone only gives you lies." Instead, Barbara gained the power to walk in heels and then hotness and then the literal power of a God™ (a la Diana) which makes me think the Dreamstone is changing reality. Not bringing lies.

Oh, also, they could have had Diana's Lasso of Truth stop working for her. I thought that's what they were going for at first, but it turns out that Diana is just losing her powers. They also started with "the Dreamstone will give you what you want most," but then Maxwell started using it to clear traffic? Which by the way, is NOT an illusion. That is reality-bending.

There were just so many ways to make it obvious that "the Dreamstone is giving you lies," but they didn't use them. Or at the very least, they didn't commit. I felt like they used a little bit of "be careful what you wish for" (mostly on randos that Maxwell is duping), a little bit of "what are you willing to sacrifice," and a little of "you can have what you want, but it won't be real." All of which are valid ways to take a Dreamstone kind of story, but if they wanted to rely so heavily on Truth™ as the main theme, then I feel like more of the wishes should have been showcasing that. Instead, it felt like a jumble of all the kinds of messages we're used to seeing with Wish-Granting Objects, with no emphasis on specifically the "it's all a lie" part.

Ugh, I'm actually mad now, because I'm trying to think of a story I've heard where this magical thing is granting wishes but they're Explicitly Not Real. Like all the money gets turned back to leaves or whatever (kinda like Cinderella's pumpkin lol). Oh, Aladdin does this, too, because yeah Genie is granting wishes and changing reality, but not permanently? Like, almost all of the stuff he uses magic to do dissolves as soon as we're looking away from it or gets fixed by the end of the movie? And the film is very very clear on the fact that Aladdin is not factually a Prince.

But this film doesn't do that. They make it seem like the Dreamstone can change reality, then berate the characters for not Accepting the Truth™ about themselves. Maybe if they had made a bigger deal out of Steve coming back in someone else's body, it would have been 1) less confusing, 2) less icky (provided they don't do the sex in Engineer Dude's body), and 3) more thematically coherent.

Lastly, Diana's perceived character changes.

This one is probably the most subjective. Diana, as a character, in the first film was very morally grounded and motivated. The Diana in this film felt ... different. Again. Subjective. And also circumstantial.

Diana is still morally grounded in this film. But she's also willing to sacrifice the world to keep Steve Trevor around. Which feels like a jarring change from her characterization in the first film. She was so idealistic and optimistic in that first film, I couldn't imagine her making that choice. It just felt like such a tone change for her character. How did we go from "Who will I be if I stay?" to "Why, for once, can't I just have this one thing, Steve? ... I can't give you up. I can't. So I won't."

Also, her motivation in this film seemed to center around her loss of Steve Trevor and wanting him, and less around "save the world." Which, to be fair, I'm all for women being selfish in film. Give me women of all motivations and desires. I don't want Diana to be Perfect™. I just want her to be consistent. And I didn't think this characterization was as consistent as I expected. Was her life so terrible without Steve (even though they only knew each other for a short time)? Not to say this couldn't be a valid take on Diana (reminder: I haven't read any comics, so maybe it's not in character at all 🤷‍♀️), but if that's what they were going for, they should have developed the journey from naive idealist to jaded romantic more in order to justify this character change.

Also, the body possession thing. She's really okay with her boyfriend possessing somebody else's body. I did like the "All I See Is You" line, since it's romantic, but up until that point, we as viewers aren't really sure why Chris Pine and Hallmark Dude are both playing this guy. Then we find out in a romantic line that Chris Pine is just Wonder Woman's view of him. He still looks like Engineer Dude because he is Engineer Dude. At first, I thought that they used a different guy for the first meeting because Diana didn't recognize him. That this was her perception of him until she realized who it was. (I thought this was supported by Chris Pine's more rugged look in this film. But actually they were probably matching him to the body he was inhabiting, since the character really didn't look like himself). Leverage does a similar thing in the Rashomon Job. All the characters saw each other at the same event, but they didn't know each other back then, so they had different actors play their parts until it's slowly revealed that actually the random people at the event were the characters we know and love. It's great. Anyway, that's not what they're going for here, and the ambiguous framing along with Diana and Steve's chemistry is supposed to make you forget that he is possessing someone else’s body! Against their will! (Again, Steve and Diana didn't consent to the initial possession either, but they absolutely consented to what they did together. Engineer Dude did not.)

Yikes 😬

I will say, she didn't kill innocents this time. One of my critiques of the first movie was that she was so willing to kill Germans. And I get it, Nazis are usually an "acceptable" target in American media. But as a character, she believed that they were innocents who had been manipulated by Ares. And yet, she was slaughtering them en masse. But, in this movie, they're really careful to make sure that she's nonlethal.

And yeah, that's it.

Asteria was of course awesome. That bonus credit scene was 👌

I'm glad they got Linda Hemming back for costuming after the disaster of Justice League. Unfortunately, being set in the 80's, the outfits are not quite so modest as the first movie. But the important thing was the lack of male gaze in those shots.

The movie definitely hit me in my emotions. I cried three times: first during the tournament, watching the Amazon's being awesome. Then during Diana and Steve's fight, and when Steve convinced Diana to let him go. 😭

As I said, I definitely plan on rewatching. It makes me sad to see how much negative press that the movie is getting when it's one of so few female-led blockbusters. A lot of people are comparing it to the original or to the comics or TV show, when those are just not valuable comparisons. Comic books and TV shows are completely different mediums. And a successful sequel CONTINUES a story, instead of rehashing it. And also, not all films are created specifically for YOU. A lot of the 80's references went over my head, but that's ok. They weren't for me. I don't begrudge their existence just because I don't vibe with them.

Again, no film is perfect! I think I talked through a lot of its weaknesses pretty thoroughly, but I still think it's a strong film, and I want it to succeed.

Anyhoo, I hope you had fun watching the movie (even though it's not perfect) and I hope you had fun reading my commentary.

(Fun fact: I actually ran out of space in my notes app and had to stretch it across two notes)

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Robert Rodriguez on We Can Be Heroes and How Pedro Pascal Reminds Him of Harrison Ford

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Robert Rodriguez is a man of many hats – in every sense of the word.

While he has been known to rock a fedora or two down the years, the idiom is more a reflection of his “one-man film crew” approach to movie-making, with Rodriguez known for not only writing, and directing but also doing everything from editing to operating the camera.

It’s also a reflection of his ability to turn his hand to disparate genres and movies aimed and markedly different audiences.

Having made his name with movies like El Mariachi and From Dusk till Dawn, the new millennium saw Rodriguez’s career take a surprising turn into the world of family-orientated action with Spy Kids.

A major success with critics and audiences alike, the film spawned three further sequels, with Rodriguez even roping in Sylvester Stallone for the third and fourth efforts.

Since then, he has happily flipped back and forth between the two worlds, with 2005’s The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl sandwiched in between work on Sin City and Planet Terror.

It’s a pretty stark contrast in cinematic terms but one Rodriguez happily explains while speaking to Den of Geek about his latest movie, We Can Be Heroes, a superhero movie about a group of kids forced to do battle with alien invaders who have kidnapped their superhero parents.

“You are using the same skills. You just have a different mindset as far as tone. It’s just like if you’re at work or out with your buddies, you’ve got one way of talking and then when you go home and you’re with your kids it’s dad time. You have your dad hat on.

“When I make these movies, I have the dad hat on and then when I am out with my buddies that’s Sin City mode, that’s Machete mode. That’s when that other side of me comes out.”

While the kids take centre stage in We Can Be Heroes, they are ably supported by an impressive adult cast that includes Boyd Holbrook, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christian Slater and Pedro Pascal.

It was the first time Pascal and Rodriguez had worked together, but it wouldn’t be the last. While working post-production on We Can Be Heroes, Rodriguez was recruited by Jon Favreau to direct an episode of The Mandalorian.

As such, he knows more than most about what makes Pascal such an engaging and intriguing presence on the screen.

“He reminds me of Harrison Ford in a way, he’s like this everyman type guy. He can be funny, he can be really intense, he can be very heroic but in We Can Be Heroes he kind of has to be a dweebish dad where it’s just all about him and his daughter [YaYa Gosselin].”

“He played that really well and was then also able to become this superhero. He can be very human and warm. In The Mandalorian he does a similar type of thing but with that heart. But he can play intense too. He’s got a wide range.”

“He reminds me of some of my favourite actors that I have worked with before like George Clooney. That’s why he’s got such a big career right now. People can see that he’s very much able to do 180 degrees in any direction.”

Working on The Mandalorian served as a stark contrast to his efforts on We Can Be Heroes but Rodriguez believes it definitely informed the making of this film.

“The Mandalorian is wonderful because you’ve got such a great big crew and they all know what they are doing and it’s a well-oiled machine. Jon Favreau is there, Dave Filoni is there, so I can just go in and direct.

“It was great to take a little break, go play with all the Star Wars toys and then come back and apply what I learned there to We Can Be Heroes, because they have a lot of cutting-edge technologies and techniques. I think this movie really benefited from side projects like that and Alita.”

We Can Be Heroes has been billed by some as a sequel to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl but Rodriguez is keen to stress that this film doesn’t take place in the same universe.

“I wrote this as an original story for Netflix because they found movies like Sky Kids and Shark Boy and Lava Girl played really well on their service. Also, it is so rare to have live-action kids adventures for the whole family.”

“I love the genre so I came up with the idea for We Can Be Heroes where you have this adult Avengers-style team and then have little kids with superior powers but they don’t know how to use them.”

“I was surprised that there had never been superheroes that were kids, except for Shark Boy and Lava Girl back in the day, even after all these superhero movies and TV shows and spin-offs and reboots. I thought it was ripe for the taking.”

“The first script I turned in didn’t have Shark Boy or Lava Girl in it. But then I just thought let’s borrow their characters and bring them in as parents because it will help legitimise the adult team to have someone recognisable. It was more like we borrowed them. It’s not set in that universe.”

Working on the film has certainly given Rodriguez an appreciation for the superhero genre, which he would be keen to explore in future movies though he does note that it’s a genre that could benefit from more diversity.

“I think superhero films are just like westerns. It’s really about the story being told through that genre.”

“That’s why people live in there. It’s not because they’re superheroes it’s because the stories are relatable.”

“The superhero genre is still really vital. There’s a lot of room to grow. I think it could use more diversity and I know I could bring that. So yeah, I would be interested in continuing with it.”

Rodriguez has always been a strong advocate for representation on the screen and once cited his biggest creative victory as having the kids in Spy Kids be part of a Latino family.

In that sense, We Can Be Heroes is another big win with the film’s cast of 11 child superheroes notable for featuring a female lead, several black and Asian characters and a boy with special abilities who uses a wheelchair.

“I’m always looking to do that in my films since the beginning and that was what I liked about this early,” Rodriguez explains.

“It’s just something that was very organic to the story because the adult superhero team would have been assembled from the best of the best all over the world. That works well with this audience too with Netflix movies going out all at once all over the world.”

Still, having such a large ensemble cast created something of a logistical nightmare when it came time to shoot the film.

“You ask any director what is the most difficult scene to do and they will say a dinner scene. A dinner scene where there are like 10 people around a table because you have got to shoot a wide shot and then you have got to shoot everybody in there talking to each other. Close ups of everybody. “

“It’s very tedious because you have got 10 or 11 people and that’s what this whole movie was because there are 11 kids in every scene because they are all together, they’re not split up.

“I had to wrangle them for every shot and make sure they all had a very specific thing to do. We only had six hours a day, that’s like half a work day. So that was a challenge.”

While Rodriguez insists he makes kids films “purely for the innocence of children” with no adult jokes that go over their heads, We Can Be Heroes does feature a US President, played by Happy Gilmore’s Christopher McDonald, who audiences are initially told sleeps in until 12 and struggles to put a sentence together. Could this be a reference to anyone in particular?

Rodriguez laughs at this suggestion.

“It’s funny because I really did think maybe the adults would laugh at that but when we tested it to an audience in one of the earliest versions before the pandemic hit, kids laughed the most. So, they all thought they knew what we were talking about.”

Ultimately, he insists that was simply “misdirection” as part of the film’s wider message about the importance of parents being role models to their kids in order to ensure they make the world a better place because, as Rodriguez puts it, “obviously we’ve screwed this place up.”

“It’s designed to be something to inspire the next generation. It’s supposed to show that the world is kind of falling apart. That adults are not working together – just like the adult superhero team shows.

“There are constant battles within the group and this only underlines the problems in not being able to see eye to eye, to make a compromise, to make concessions, to make things work.”

Rodriguez hopes that while We Can Be Heroes entertains it also encourages better communication among parents and children to ensure the same mistakes found in society today, which have been drawn into sharp focus over the past 12 months, are not repeated.

“The kids need mentors; they need role models. Parents have to step up and be better examples and kids have to know that they are the future. They have to do things a better way and they are going to have better ideas.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

We Can Be Heroes is available on Netflix from 25th December.

The post Robert Rodriguez on We Can Be Heroes and How Pedro Pascal Reminds Him of Harrison Ford appeared first on Den of Geek.

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qveenpoppy · 4 years

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kingsman the golden circle: a review

so, i kinda just jotted stuff down as my reactions during the movie, so i’m just gonna copy that over here and have that be my review. figured that’d be more authentic and i also just kinda did it for fun. i mean, it made my viewing a lot longer than it should have been but hey, i had the time, so why not? enjoy, my friends. i’ll add some overall thoughts and a score at the tail end. (i’ll bold it, for anyone who wants to jump right to that.)

Gosh that opening action sequence was BONKERS, so high-energy and kinda unrealistic that Eggsy would survive that but incredible to watch nonetheless. And it's been so long since I watched the first film in full, I've forgotten about my love for the theme/score. It's so gorgeous and epic.

I made a mistake starting this before dinner, and that first scene at Poppy's dinner was one of the most disturbing things I ever saw. I find these characters so interesting but the violence in these films is a little too much for me. I tried closing my eyes during the scene but I did so too early and then opened them back up during That part. I gotta make sure to keep them closed if something like that happens again (which I'm guessing it might).

The transitions in this movie are phenomenal, I love continuity with shapes that tie each scene to the following ones.

Because I'm watching this two years late, I saw some spoilers for the movie online. Like, a while ago. Like, back when it first came out. I was curious and only moderately liked the first movie (it was visually great but as I said, not one for R-rated violence). That being said, the scene in which Harry gets his memories back is WAY better viewed in context. Whether you think of Harry and Eggsy as an item or not, it's very good. Eggsy knew EXACTLY what would bring Harry's memories back, and I adored their hug after Harry calmed down. (The height difference!!! Eggsy went on his toes!!!) Also, I hope Harry got to keep the puppy after that and named him Mr. Pickles Jr.

Anyone else get super hyped when they hear Colin Firth say, "Manners maketh man"? It's like you just Know shit is about to go down when those words are said in these films. I hope the prequel next year gives us an origin of that line being a battle call. Also, I heard Pedro Pascal did some rope training for this film but holy wowness, it's so good! Yeah, it's enhanced with CG effects and probably some switch-ins with stunt doubles, but it still makes for an incredible action sequence! I hope Pedro gets to show off some of these skills somehow next year in Wonder Woman 1984 or Mandalorian s2. (Can't believe I slept on him for so long as an action star, what a talent!)

You know, I can kind of see where this president is coming from? I mean, as his female aid reminds him, it's a gray area, considering those who experiment with drugs or self-medicate or teens/kids, but I can also see how taking out those who use illegal drugs kinda ends the whole "war on drugs". There's logic to it but considering those mentioned parties, it's got a devious, ignorant edge to it. I can at least say I like this movie having a little bit more of a political edge to it than the first one. I wonder if anyone had a debate like this while/after watching the movie, whether they agree with this president's stance or not. I would guess the red tie he wears points to him being a Republican, so you know most Democrats would be quick to disagree, given the climate of the country following the 2016 election (aka, more divided than ever).

Also why is Charlie hotter in this movie than he was in the first one? Is it because he's evil? The shaved head? The robot arm? (I mean, being a legit villain isn't a good thing, but he's not as psychotic as Poppy and kinda has a foot in both sides, at least since he's English and now his girlfriend is infected with Poppy's disease. I wonder if he'll change sides at some point, or just die at the hands of the Kingsman, considering what he knows about them.)

(Oh wait, nevermind, he gave her the antidote. But maybe he went behind Poppy's back to do so? Or it's a placebo version and he'll wind up turning on Poppy??? Also does he know his girlfriend got fingered by Eggsy?)

(Yeah, think I can kiss that redemption arc goodbye. Eh, at least there will be fanfics for that. Or at least ones where he and Eggsy have hot hate sex.)

Oh shit, Whiskey made Eggsy drop the antidote. But at least Eggsy and Harry are okay. But how the fuck are they gonna save the day now?

Was Harry seeing butterflies as part of the delusion stage of Poppy's virus? Did the Statesmen unknowingly treat him with one of the drugs she infected? Is he gonna die AGAIN?! (Oh wait, I saw the spoilers, he'll be fine. But they might have to use the antidote on him.)

Okay I also knew from spoilers that Whiskey wasn't gonna survive the movie but delusional Harry took him out?! Why?! Will he be revived by the Statesmen like Harry was? (Whiskey's just too cool a character to lose in one movie.)

Nevermind about the agreement thing, this president is one sick motherfucker.

Sorry this commentary is becoming much briefer and summary-esque, but Whiskey (aka Jack; they did that on purpose, didn't they?) is back. But I still don't think he'll make it till the end of the film. Is he gonna try and take Harry out? Is he actually a double agent?

You know, with them bringing Harry back, it kinda lowers the stakes of these movies. Like, is anyone ever fully dead? 'Cause this movie especially seems to keep bringing people back, at least with that Statesman tech. So it's hard to be all that sad about Merlin's death. I mean, obviously him fucking BLOWING UP seems like a pretty permanent way to die, but I thought I saw - again, around the time this came out - behind the scenes photos of Mark with some sort of green motion capture pants, as if they'd given him some metal robot legs like I guess Gazelle's in the first film. Like he just got knocked back by the blast and could no longer use his legs, if revived. But apparently it didn't make the final cut. Still, wouldn't be surprised if they used that footage for the third film as a way to bring him back. 'Cause clearly Merlin, Eggsy, and Harry are the main trio in this franchise. (Sorry, Roxy fans.)

Ohhh, look at Elton getting in on the action sequences. Yes, Sir!!!

I love when action sequences are set to more creative choices of music :)

Harry & Elton, huh? I ship it

Oh, Whiskey is actually a bad guy. Damn. Take back all the praise I had for him. Pedro, I love you, but fuck Whiskey.

Thank god I covered my eyes this time when That happened. Ugh, gross.

Ohhh, an impeachment and removal from office. If only life could imitate art... (But only in that way, nothing else from this movie should happen in real life.)

Tequila works for Kingsman now?!

overall thoughts: a suitable sequel for this franchise. obviously pretty similar tone-wise with the humor and language and violence. i always forget that these films aren’t exactly my taste. kinda triggered my anxiety with all that violence and the whole drug-triggered virus (not that i’ll be experimenting with any illegal drugs anytime soon, but my paranoid brain will definitely keep me even further away from them now.) like, they’re well-shot and i like the characters, and i mostly wanted to watch this for some explanation of how harry was brought back from the dead, but i’m at least glad i chose to watch this at home and on my laptop/tablet. it would not have been good for me to see this on the big screen. (and i managed to watch both movies for free, and completely legally. first on xfinity on demand, this on a free rental from fandago. go me!)

as i said, the political aspects did at least make for some cool thought-provoking moments and debate. i do love when movies make you think like that. mindless action movies are the absolute worst (i’m looking at you, marvel and transformers franchises).

i’m at least curious about that third film, how they’ll handle the loss of so many significant characters, or if they’ll magically be brought back to life, again. yeah, as cool as it was, bringing harry back may have been a mistake for this franchise. but i understand that it’s the main relationship of the series, even if eggsy is now married to that swedish princess, tilda or whatever. (meh.)

rating: 7/10. it’s hard for me to give a film any lower than that, unless i turned it off or got particularly tired/bored while watching it, so. good action, good characters, fun humor, smidge too violent.

till next time, my dudes!

#kingsman: the golden circle #reviews #gonna go look for those eggsy/charlie fics now lol

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hide-in-imagination · 6 years

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“Roads That Cross… At Open Musics” (Ch4)

You can read the previous chapters here: (1), (2), (3)

(Revised: 30/08/21)

It was the morning of the Open Music. Or “Flash Open”, as Ámbar had called it, because it had really been planned on record time. She'd announced it one afternoon and two days later here they were. That meant they'd only had one day for rehearsals (more like 3 hours because many of them worked), but Simón was confident that their performance with the guys would be a success. They sounded amazing and the moves they had come up with were great— They were gonna rock it.

He was at the bar while Pedro worked in the lockers when he heard someone call his name.

“Simón!”

He turned to find Ámbar approaching the back of the bar rapidly with a pen and clipboard in hand. She looked pretty with her thin-strap black top over her grey t-shirt (if he was honest, she always did), but she also looked agitated.

“I need you to change the graphics of the screens,” she told him, pointing at the televisions around the cafeteria. “From now on, they should only show the Jam & Roller logo. The Red Shark’s one is outdated and has to go, it’s about time.”

Simón smiled. Finally, things in the Roller were getting back to how they used to be.

“I love that idea, I’ll get to it right now,” he said and turned around, but she called out to him before he could take a step.

“Wait! Did you do the soundcheck?”

“No, but I was going to do it n—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Ámbar started speaking again. Or, more accurately, throwing inquiries at a high speed.

“Did the delivery guys arrive with the costumes yet? Are were loaded up on food? Big audiences mean more food than usual. The lighting of the stage background is on point? I would hate for one of the light bulbs to go out in the middle of a performance.” Her eyes widened. “Oh god, what if half of them end up going out and the stage just reads ‘Open’? Like, ‘Open nothing’, what would I do?”

He had been right, she was agitated. It got him worried, he didn’t like seeing her like that.

“Hey.” He took a step closer to her, leaning over the bar's counter so she looked at him. “Hey, slow down. Everything’s going to be fine,” he told her in a calming voice, but Ámbar shook her head.

“I can’t slow down. Look at this huge to-do list,” she said, pointing at her clipboard. “There’s still a hundred things that need to get done and time’s flying by."

She left the clipboard on the bar, staring at it in distress. Simón reached over and placed his hand over hers in what he hoped would be a comforting gesture.

“Well, I’m here for you. Whatever you need,” he told her honestly.

Her eyes danced between his, and it was only then that he realized the moment was turning into something deeper than it should. He'd been so focused on making her feel better that he forgot he was meant to keep his distance.

“…Boss,” he added to his sentence, pulling his hand away from hers. It was his job to help her after all, so that made it less personal. Right?

Ámbar didn’t seem to pay any mind to those things though. She just gave him a little smile. “Thank you. And sorry for attacking you with all this but I’m stressed. Like, really stressed out because it’s my first event as manager of the Roller and I want everything to be perfect, you know? Like, not a thing out of place, not a single mistake made and— … Why are you looking at me like that?”

A smile had grown on his face without him being able to help it. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking how much of a perfectionist you always are with everything you do. It’s kinda—” He was gonna say cute, but he managed to stop himself before it slipped out. He really shouldn’t be calling her cute right now. Actually, he shouldn’t be thinking it. Couldn’t he focus for once in his life?

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Go on, boss, tell me what else you need, I’m listening,” he said in business mode. Work. Just work. You’re working.

“Right, um…" Ámbar checked her list again. “…Actually, I think I already told you everythi— Wait, almost forgot. That guy, Michel? He can sing with you guys, no problem.”

Simón nodded, glad to hear it. “Perfect.” After some seconds without new instructions, he asked, “So… would that be all, boss?”

Ámbar rolled her eyes with a smile. “You don’t have to call me boss every single time," she said, amused. But then her smile took a coquettish turn and the look in her eyes grew seductive. “…Unless you have a thing for it?”

Simón raised an eyebrow. Was she insinuating he had a boss kink?

It should've been laughable. He hadn't had many good experiences with previous bosses, la generala being the perfect example of it. But his heart beat faster as he drowned in Ámbar's eyes. She had inched closer, leaning on the counter on her forearms, and he found himself doing the same, as if pulled in by her.

“A thing?” He mused low, as if considering it. “… I don’t know, boss. Should I?”

They kept each other's gaze intensely. Simón could see a fire surge in her ocean blue eyes. He had seen that look before, and his heart accelerated as the images flooded his mind. Her gaze moved down to his lips, and her tongue came out to wet her own. The pure gesture almost made him groan, and that was when alarm bells exploded in his brain.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP FLIRTING WITH HER!

Rapidly, he took a step back and cleared his throat.

“Well, if you don’t need anything else right now, Ámbar…” He said as he moved random food displays on the bar as if he was arranging them, calming his heart and focusing on what was important before he turned to her once more. “Could we perhaps talk a little about the Felipe Mendevilla thing? Please?” Before I lose my mind. “Because I feel like giving Luna a solo performance at the Open isn’t enough to make up for what you did.”

The guilt of not telling Luna the truth that night had made it hard to sleep. He had just watched as Ámbar made up something to avoid coming clean. Did that count as lying to Luna? He wasn’t sure. All he knew is that the sooner Ámbar talked to her the better.

For a second, he thought Ámbar looked disappointed at the change of topic, but she schooled her expression quickly to one of detachment.

“I didn’t say it was either,” she said pursing her lips.

Simón nodded. At least she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. “Alright. Then, could you please talk to her?” He asked, sounding like a broken record even to his own ears but he couldn’t keep on hiding this from Luna forever, she needed to know.

Ámbar grimaced. “Oh no, I can’t right now, Simón, I told you. I’m this close to collapsing. I have a ton of things to do, look at this list—”

“Hey, what’s up?” Ringed out a voice suddenly. It was Matteo, who was walking towards them with a smile on his face.

Just as he arrived, Ámbar grabbed her stuff from the bar to leave. Before she did, Simón looked at her once more.

“Everything’s going to be alright," he assured with a smile.

Ámbar smiled back at him and turned, leaving the cafeteria to keep on preparing everything for the Open.

Matteo watched her leave and then turned to face him with a teasing smile. “Anything going on over here?” He asked, pretty much wiggling his eyebrows at him. Simón scoffed internally.

Oh, he had no idea.

**********************

It had been tough, but Ámbar managed to have everything ready and running smoothly by the time people started to arrive. The place was packed, not only by regulars but also by new faces, which was great because more people equaled more revenue, which equaled she was already doing her job as manager fantastically.

Once everyone was seated and the appointed time arrived, Ámbar stood straight and channeled her characteristic confidence.

Let the show begin.

Ámbar walked up the stage and stood in front of the microphone like she had been born to do so (and she pretty much was).

“Welcome, everyone, to my first Open,” she greeted the crowd with a proud smile. The audience applauded. She started her opening speech by thanking VIDIA for the opportunity, promising she wouldn’t let them down and that she had many other ideas for the Roller. Now that she was in charge, things were going to change for the better.

“The purpose of this Open is to unite us once and for all. I’m tired of fights.” Especially fights with someone in particular, she thought. “I don’t wanna see any more conflicts, I wanna see close groups and I know you all want that as well, right?”

The crowd clapped and yelled their agreements. The whole point of this Open was to show Simón that she wanted to fix things, that they didn’t need to be enemies just because they were on different teams. It hadn’t exactly worked since he had found out about the Felipe thing, but looking at how happy and excited everyone was, she was sure he’d appreciate this gesture, there was no way he wouldn’t.

She continued her speech, explaining how the performances were divided, two groups and two soloists, before presenting the first one: the boys' team. Asking the crowd for a round of applause, she called all their names before walking down the stage and towards her seat next to Emilia.

The guys appeared on stage with the crowd’s cheer surrounding them. They all looked great in the costumes she had chosen (obviously), but Ámbar couldn’t stop her stare from focusing immediately on Simón. He looked very hot in those clothes. Choosing him a t-shirt one size smaller than usual was the best idea she ever had. The tight black fabric accentuated his chest, shoulders and strong arms just right. Her mouth watered. It was so distracting that she almost didn’t notice how he called Matteo up to join them on stage until she saw him climb up and stand beside Simón.

Once they were all in their positions, the intro of “Nadie como tú” started playing.

Nunca creí en historias del corazón…

Estar enamorado para mí era sólo un juego…

Did he just look at her as he sang that? Yeah, he definitely did.

Ámbar found herself following him with her eyes through all the song even if it was another guy who was front and center.

Tú, me haces sentir

que esto es el cielo y que en la tierra ya no hay como tú

Me tienes así, rogándote please, oh baby

I need nobody but you

God, that choreography was marvelous. Marvelous in the way that had him flexing his arms and showing up his biceps every five seconds. 10/10.

When Benicio came to the front, he pointed at her, calling her attention, and when her eyes landed on him, he winked.

She felt a little bad. Just a little.

When they got to the bridge of the song, Matteo froze, lips parted but no words coming out of them. The change in the air was instantaneous. He forgot the lyrics.

It was just about five seconds before Simón kept singing the song and encouraged Matteo to continue as well, but everyone noticed. Glances were exchanged. Ámbar couldn’t help but worry a little about him. Sure, they had little to no communication now and their relationship had ended quite badly, but they still had cared for each other once and she didn’t wish him any harm. Not anymore at least, she had moved on. She hoped these after-effects of the fall would only be temporary.

Tú, me tienes así,

rogándote please, oh baby

I need nobody but you.

By the end of the performance, it was like that slip-up had never existed. The energy of everyone on stage was contagious, and when the song ended, the whole audience cheered and applauded, Ámbar included.

The boys went down the side of the stage, joining their friends on the tables or getting back to work. Ámbar stood and took off her coat.

It was time to shine.

******************

Simón was a little breathless from their performance, but it was a great feeling. It was the kind of tired that brought satisfaction because you knew you had given it your all and it had been fun doing so.

He joined the bar along with Pedro and Eric, ready to go back to taking orders and serving tables, when the girls started filling the stage. He turned towards them, and that was when he really lost his breath.

Ámbar was in front of a row with all the girls behind her, and she had discarded her long coat. It turned out that underneath it she had a skin-tight black costume; pants that hugged her long legs to perfection and a top that left her shoulders bare. All in all, the clothes accentuated every curve on her body. His brain short-circuited for a moment.

Wow.

“And now, I wanna hear you clap your hands even louder for all of us!”

The crowd acclaimed as Ámbar put the microphone away and all the girls took their places on the stage, pompons in hand. The music started playing, the girls started moving. God, that hip movement was illegal.

Sé quién soy, quiero una tregua, mi cabeza no da más…

The more the choreography advanced, the more Simón had to fight to not let his jaw drop. He was conscious that he was following Ámbar's every move with his eyes but he couldn’t stop himself. She had always shone on stage, he had noticed since the first moment he saw her, and right now wasn’t an exception. Even the pompons surrounded her in the choreography, as if her presence alone wasn’t enough to center all of the attention.

Mano a mano

¿quién es el villano?

Soy la que te enseña más

She threw a glance at him. Simón's heart jumped. She always sang the parts that talked about being bad, which he usually wouldn't have considered that ironic, but at that moment he did, because she looked good. More than good. Maybe he was biased, but he could swear she looked the prettiest of them all. And the sexiest, because while all the others were wearing floaty dresses, her tight black clothes left little to the imagination.

The urge to press her against his body assaulted him and he had to shake his head to stop those thoughts. Focus on the choreography, he told himself. But she kept looking in his direction with a tiny, bewitching smile and it was hard not to return her gaze.

Buena o mala, siempre señalada

Mano a mano estamos hoy.

The crowd erupted in applause as the performance ended. Simón couldn't help but clap as well, and with a smile on his face nonetheless. It had been amazing. His competitive side wanted to say that his performance with the guys had been better, but he knew his heart was with the girls.

More like with one in particular.

The girls walked down the stage and Ámbar stayed behind to face the audience. Seeming a little nervous, she announced there would be a little break and asked Eric to put on some music before descending the stage as well. Simón saw her walk towards the dressing room. Just two seconds later, he was following her. He didn’t really know why or for what, just that he needed to.

She was turning around just as he passed through the door and she collided with him, taken by surprise.

“Simón.”

She looked even more beautiful up close (if it was even possible). He thought of maybe saying it, congratulate her on her performance, tell her she had been great. He felt like he was vibrating with energy; the excitement of the spotlights, the music, of having her in front of him with those little, perfectly shaped curls. But just a second after he arrived, she asked him—

“Have you seen Benicio?”

—and his heart fell.

It was stupid, really. She was looking for him for the next performance, so of course it was logical that she needed to find him. But the fact that the first words that came out of her mouth were about him was like a slap to Simón's face.

It stung. But it also made him snap out of whatever stupid spell he had been under, so he guessed he had to be grateful.

Now the only reasonable reason why he could’ve followed her there was clear.

“No, I haven’t seen him," he replied coldly. "Sorry for not being who you’re looking for, but I need to ask you a question.”

Ámbar blinked at his tone. She could’ve sworn that just a minute ago he was smiling as he watched her on stage, what had happened?

“What question?” She said.

He looked at her with a serious expression.

“When are you gonna speak with Luna?”

Ámbar did a double-take. Was he serious right now?

“I can not believe this. I mean, do you really think that in the middle of an Open that I participate in, host, and organize I can talk to Luna? For real?”

The sole idea was ridiculous— She had enough on her plate as it was, what was up with him?

“No, of course not. I mean, you always find the perfect excuse, don’t you?” He accused sarcastically. It was true that she was busy— He could see that, he understood that. But he also knew that if she really meant to talk to Luna, she could’ve done it by now, it was only a few minutes of her time.

She shook her head. “No, no, it’s not an excuse, Simón, I really can’t right now," she insisted, stress painting her voice. "Look at me. Don’t you see how I am?”

He knew that she meant that she was practically in a Grease costume and in the middle of hosting a show, but Simón couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming her figure from head to toe. Her beautiful blue eyes that never failed to muddle his mind. The line of her neck that she shuddered when he kissed. Her smooth skin that he knew was soft to the touch. Her chest, tightly outlined by the black fabric, that almost made his hands itch because they knew how it fit under them and they wanted to relive it. The thin waist he could grab her by and her long, slender legs that he remembered wrapped around him, holding him as if to never let him go.

“Yeah, I see you,” he breathed, voice husky.

The urge to touch her was back. It was always there on some level, buried, but sometimes it was stronger and fought for control. Simón met her gaze and she noticed; he knew she noticed. He looked away quickly, cursing himself internally as he cleared his throat. He couldn’t let her see that, he needed to stay focused.

“I see it, but you could’ve talked to her yesterday, or today before the Open, and you didn’t," he remarked reproachfully. "You had plenty of chances and you didn’t, so I’m starting to think that you won’t.”

Ámbar took a deep breath. His wasn't the best timing, but what he was saying was fair, so she decided to reassure him.

“Alright. Alright, let’s do the following, Simón," she proposed. "I promise you that the moment the Open is over I’m gonna talk to her. Okay?”

He pursed his lips.

“Right. And why should I trust you?" He said, skeptical. "Why shouldn’t I just tell her myself?”

His words hurt her, in tone and meaning. So that was what it all came down to? He still didn’t trust her? That was why he was always pulling away?

She had suspected that, and she could understand that it was complicated but…

“Simón," she started, "ever since I’ve become the manager of the Roller, all I’ve tried to do is reunify everyone. Haven’t you noticed? I’m really trying here,” she said, and couldn’t avoid a little pain to filter into her voice. “Don’t you think that’s enough reason to trust me again?”

Simón looked at her fixedly, searching for any trace of lies or deception but he found none. All he saw was genuine hurt from his words and he felt bad for it. She really had made an effort. She had made all this Open so everyone could have fun together just like in the old days and it had worked.

“You’re right. Sorry," he said after a moment. She did deserve some credit, and he wanted to trust her, more than anything. “But Luna is my best friend and I have to protect her," he argued. "I can’t keep on hiding this from her—”

“I know, I know, just—” Ámbar interrupted him, knowing where he was going with it. “Wait until after the Open, okay?”

He gave her a grave look, then nodded.

“Okay. I’m gonna give you a second chance. But either you tell her, or I will,” he warned, before turning around towards the door.

No.

No, she couldn’t let him leave.

She had seen the way he looked at her, since the moment that he came into the room. That wasn't the look of someone who just wanted to remind her of a promise. His expression could be cold but his eyes didn't show indifference. He was using the Luna thing as a shield to not let himself get close, again, even when it was clear that he wanted to.

Ámbar was done letting him run, and she was tired of waiting.

“What about us?”

The sound of her voice stopped Simón in his tracks. He turned around to face Ámbar again and found her eyes boring into his.

“Do we get a second chance?”

Simón's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to get back tog—?

No, don’t even think about it.

“Ámbar…” He uttered in a tired voice.

“What?” She asked defensive against his tone.

He licked his lips, looking away from her. “We talked about this.”

“No, you talked," she retorted. "You said that we should forget about what happened, and I don't know if you'd really be capable of it, but I'm not. I don’t want to forget. It was important for me.”

Simón met her gaze. The emotion in her voice matched her expression. Her eyes seemed to beg for him to listen, and as she took a step closer, he found himself captured by them, unable to move.

“I know that you think we’re too different," she said, "or that I’m only playing with you, but I swear to you I'm not, Simón. If you can trust me on anything, trust me on this; I care about you for real. I like you, not anyone else." She shook her head slightly. "I don’t just like you, I… I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.”

Simón could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage. He could hear the drumming in his ears, and he was tongue-tied. She was looking right into his eyes, telling him how she felt, how deeply her feelings ran towards him. She was speaking from her heart, he could see it in her gaze. She was opening herself up to him, leaving her heart bare, and wasn’t that what he always wanted? For her to be sincere? For her to truly want him? Wasn’t this what he always wanted to hear?

It was. It really was, but…

“And even if you try to deny it,” she continued, taking one more step towards him, making it so their eyes were centimeters apart, as if he weren't drowning in them already, “even if you want with every fiber of your being to believe otherwise, I know you still have feelings for me too. More than just plain lust; I can see it. So I have a question for you too: Are you gonna face them straight on? … Or are you gonna tell me again that we’ll never happen?”

As the words left her mouth, Ámbar focused on Simón. She had tried to pour everything she felt in this moment, show him how important he was to her, even if it terrified her to take that step. Admitting her feelings left her in a vulnerable position, one she had tried to avoid at all costs all this time, but she had reached a point where she knew it was the only way to move forwards.

She couldn’t keep living in this limbo where one moment things were great and the next they were apart again. She couldn’t keep tasting his lips and feeling his embrace only for him to pull away seconds later. She knew he had his reasons, she knew she hadn’t exactly made it easy, but this back and forth wasn’t good for her, nor for him either.

So she gave him a choice: to give her a chance or not, as simple as that. Because she couldn’t stay like this. Because she knew it was eating at him too. And because she was hoping that, now that she'd taken the step, he wouldn't let her fall alone.

Simón's eyes flickered with many emotions as he stared into hers. Something that looked like longing, something that looked like fear. Hope and hopelessness, over and over.

It was a long moment before took a deep breath, and then, finally, he spoke.

“I should go, it’s the right thing to do.”

Simón saw Ámbar's eyes shine with pain before she lowered them to the floor, but it was the truth. Walking away was the right thing to do, the rational one. She had a boyfriend, had slept with him while still being with said boyfriend, had conspired against his friends, had hurt him deeply before… Everything pointed him to the opposite direction.

His friends had told him countless times to forget about her. To move on, to not trust her.

“But…”

Her stare returned to his. Those beautiful, beautiful blue eyes that haunted his dreams and every waking moment.

Turn around may have been the right thing to do.

But he loved her.

And he really wanted to kiss her right now.

Closing the one step that separated them, he grabbed her waist and leaned into her lips, sealing them against his own as he held her against him. Ámbar moaned against his mouth and held his face as she kissed him back hard. He could understand her relief; he almost felt like crying from it too. He had been dying to do this, he always was.

As his tongue delved inside her mouth and another tiny noise emerged from her, a voice in the back of his mind attempted to tell him that what they were doing was wrong. But how could it be wrong when it felt so right? How could it be bad if both felt the same?

Her hands threaded his hair and her teeth pulled on his lip and he felt fire on his veins. He pushed her against the wall, needing to feel more of her.

How could it be wrong if their bodies fit so perfectly together? If her hands roamed him and held on to him just as desperately as his did her? How could it be wrong if he loved her?

Maybe because it’s selfish, his brain handed to him.

He had never considered himself to be selfish before. He never threw caution to the wind either, had never been this reckless… but as he felt her curves under his hands and her nails digging on his back, not an ounce of him regretted it.

Maybe she wasn’t the only one who had to change a little.

He parted from her lips and left a trail of kisses down the bare skin of her shoulder, just like he had been wanting to since he first saw her in the costume. It was almost cathartic. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating. Ámbar gasped when he nipped her collarbone, and then moaned as he tasted her neck.

“Simón,” she breathed, and grabbed his face to pull him back into her lips. He let her, gladly, drowning one hand in her hair and gripping her hip with the other. There was no space left between them. They kissed deeply, her chest flattened against his own, their breaths merged together in fleeting intakes that lived and died between their mouths.

They were in a world where only they existed. Until a voice erupted with a cry.

“What the fuck is going on here?!”

Both sprung apart abruptly, and their hearts stopped when they turned to the sound.

Ámbar stood wide-eyed.

“Benicio.”

It was all she managed to say. Her technically boyfriend was standing in front of them, furious, and with good reason because he had found them at the worst possible moment.

“Ámbar, what the hell are you doing with this loser?!” Benicio roared as he advanced, towering over her dangerously. His eyes screamed betrayal and she was frozen.

“Hey, don’t scream at her!” Simón surged by her side, moving in front of her protectively.

Benicio turned to him with rage. “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do, you son of a bitch!” He shoved him with force, making Simón stumble backward, his back colliding hard against one of the mirrors. “How dare you touch my girl—”

He took a step towards him with all the intent of breaking his face, so before he could, Ámbar stood in his way. She planted herself firmly in front of Benicio, placing her hands on his shoulders to stop him from moving forwards in his act of rage.

“Stop it, Benicio! Your problem is with me!” She willed him to look at her. “I was the one who sought him out, not the other way around.”

“Ámbar,” Simón started, not comfortable with her just taking all the blame, but she silenced him with a look.

Ámbar focused on Benicio, who had finally turned to her, his eyes boring into her own with spite. When she was sure that he wasn’t going to lunch at Simón again, she took her hands off of him and curled them into fists at her sides. This wasn’t how she wanted it to go. This wasn’t how she wanted anything to go. But gotten to this point, she had no other choice.

Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin and spoke with resolution.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way, but the truth is that I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now. I was never interested in having a serious relationship with you. We had our fun, but that’s it. I don’t wanna be with you anymore. We’re over.”

Simón's eyes widened. Had she really-?

He looked at Benicio, whose face looked like he had been struck. Simón suddenly felt awfully like an intruder, witnessing their breakup like that. Except he wasn't really just an uninvolved third party, was he? He was more like the ‘other man’, who'd come between them and made them break up in the first place. He knew that they weren’t truly romantically involved and so their relationship had close to no meaning, but still he felt the weight of responsibility as he realized that he had, technically, played the role of the illicit lover.

In that moment when he kissed her, he knew she was dating and he didn’t care. He pulled her close, consciously disregarding the fact that she had a boyfriend, because she said she had feelings for him, only him, and he decided that was all that mattered. His heart was screaming at him and for once he just listened.

Even now, feeling guilt over Benicio because he didn't wish this situation on anyone, he couldn’t help but also feel happy because they were done, Ámbar was free.

Did that make him a terrible person? Or was that just how love worked?

Either way, he had done something he couldn’t take back, and the same went for her right at this moment.

Benicio clenched his jaw and glared daggers at Ámbar, every inch of his posture showing how outraged he was by all of this. With tight fists, he moved closer to her face and looked into her eyes menacingly.

“No one plays with me, Ámbar. No one. You’re going to regret this,” he warned, his voice dripping with venom. “…Starting right now. Good luck finding a new soloist for your stupid Open. I’m out.”

As soon as he expelled those words, he turned and stormed out of the dressing room in fast strides. Ámbar’s eyes blew wide with panic.

“What?! No, Benicio, everything’s already set up, you can’t leave now!”

She lurched forward to go after him, but Simón stopped her, grabbing her arm.

“Let him go, he’s not worth it.”

She turned to him, looking desperate. “You don’t understand, this is my first event as manager of the Roller, I need it to be perfect. Everyone’s already waiting outside, what am I gonna do?”

She held her head as she started pacing. God, what had she been thinking? Of course, if she broke up with him he was gonna leave! But what else could she have done? He'd found them red-handed. This was a disaster. What was she supposed—

“I’ll do it, I’ll sing.”

Ámbar spun around, meeting Simón's earnest gaze.

“Really?” She breathed with hope. But just as fast, she fell discouraged. “But you didn’t prepare anything,” she noted. She loved that he wanted to help her, but this was very last minute.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll make something up," Simón assured her. This was very important to her, he wasn’t going to let it get ruined. He took a step forward and cupped her face, smiling reassuringly. “You just relax. This Flash Open is already a success and it’s all because of you. Be proud, bonita. I am.”

All anxiety and worry quietened as she stared into his eyes. He was right, everything would be okay, she trusted him. Music was his thing; he wouldn't let her down.

And he was proud of her. Those words warmed her heart in a way she couldn't explain.

Ámbar wished they could stay like that for longer. She wished they could talk about what happened, or kiss some more, or just stare into each other’s eyes for minutes straight.

But the show must go on and they didn’t have the time.

She could feel though that he wasn’t eager to run this time. He hadn’t fled the instant Benicio walked in, nor had he run afterward. He was here, with her, comforting her as his thumbs traced patterns on her cheeks, and that was all she needed for now.

With her conviction restored, she placed her hands on top of his.

“Alright. Let’s do this."

They walked out of the dressing room and Ámbar turned to the stage. She told him that the laptop had the tracks to all the songs they had ever sung in the Roller, so he could choose whichever he wanted as she talked to the audience— She'd buy him some time. He nodded and went for it as she quickly fixed her hair and climbed up the stage.

Simón checked the song list rapidly, debating over which one would be the best right now considering he hadn’t rehearsed.

“Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great time enjoying today’s performances,” he heard Ámbar say in front of the microphone.

Maybe ‘Yo Quisiera’? No, that one without the guitar wouldn’t have much merit. ‘Tiempo de amor’? But I already sang that one in the last Open, and besides, that song is from the band, I can’t just sing it alone.

… Alone …

An impulse began to rise inside of him. He looked up to see Ámbar, just as she started presenting him.

“For the first solo number, we have the representative for the boys’ team. He’s a very talented person, and someone who I personally appreciate very much...”

As if they were in synch, she brought her gaze to him at that moment and their eyes met.

It was like for that one second everything vanished except for them.

She gave him a little smile.

And he chose his song.

“Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for: Simón!”

The new faces in the audience clapped vigorously while the regulars of the Roller were slower to react, confused by the turn of events. They exchanged surprised looks but applauded either way, supporting their friend excitedly. Emilia, who had been smiling thinking Ámbar was talking about Benicio, glared at her when she sat back at their table, clearly not happy with the change. Ámbar just ignored her.

Simón climbed up the stage and stood behind the microphone stand, curling his hands around it. His eyes found Ámbar's briefly before he ducked his head, looking down as he waited for the song to start.

As the first chords of the electric guitar filled the place, he swung the mic stand from one side to the other. Diagonal to the right, diagonal to the left. He held it straight once more at the tempo of the music, and only then did he lift his head, facing the audience as the final notes of the intro ringed out.

Ámbar was wide-eyed.

It was “Solos”.

Puedes en mi confiar, puedes dejar que todo fluya…

Ya no hay ingenuidad, no es el momento de que huyas…

Ámbar watched baffled as Simón moved through the stage, singing what she could even call their song. She had almost forgotten that that track was in there. It had been a long time since they sang it together, and she thought they never would again. Now he was singing it on his own in front of all these people.

Buscas en mi corazón y confundes eso…

Why had he chosen this song? Was it the first one he saw? Was it the easiest to sing?

Ámbar didn't believe he would choose this particular song for a reason as coincidental as that. Then again, she couldn't believe he had chosen it, period. Out of all the things he could’ve done, she wasn’t expecting Simón to do this. She had a mix of emotions and couldn’t pinpoint one.

Juntos solos contra el mundo, una voz por un segundo

En silencio, una mirada, llévame

Juntos sin decirle a nadie, tómame yo soy culpable

Con un beso, una mirada, llévame

He was singing to her.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it. It wasn’t just a hint that only she would understand. At first, she thought that, since only Luna, Benicio and them knew it was their song, it would pass as a simple performance for everyone else. But he was looking at her. Not always, he also looked at the crowd, but when he focused on her, the direction of his gaze was so clear and purposeful that everyone could see to whom it was being dedicated. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed many people glancing at her, probably wondering what was going on, but she didn’t turn in their direction— Her eyes were fixed on him.

En silencio una mirada…

Juntos solos contra el mundo…

Wow... wow...

Juntos solos contra el mundo.

The crowd erupted in applause and whistles as the song came to a close. Seconds passed and Ámbar knew she had to stand to present the next number, but he was still looking at her intensely and she couldn’t move.

Simón finally parted from the mic, but instead of descending by the side of the stage, he moved forward, climbing down the front.

Ámbar heard the pounding of her heart in her ears as he stood in front of her, and before she could say anything, he grabbed her by the hand, pulled her to her feet, and kissed her right there in front of everyone.

...

--------------------------------------------

Sorry for the delay!!! I hope this makes up for the long wait 🌷

Any thoughts? Did you like it? Did you hate it? You can tell me anything, the idea is to get better each time.

See you next chapter ✨

@xnivesgray if anyone else wants me to tag them you can tell me!

#simbar fanfic #simbar fic #simbar fanfiction #soy luna fanfiction #simbar #My Writing #god this took a looong time #there were some parts that just didn't sound right #I still feel like it could be better but I rather publish it now and think about how to improve it after #roads that cross

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arlessiar · 7 years

Photo

This was one of the most exciting and most exhausting days of my life. ^^

Got up at 6am and met with @krissielee and @elletromil around 8. We went to the Odeon cinema as we had heard that this would indeed be a wristband premiere. We got to choose at which colour-coded pen we’d want to be and got the according wristband, in our case purple. We then went to have breakfast and came back around noon. It took them longer to set up everything though and we waited for hours. Entertained ourselves with singing and with press interviews (*waves to @krissielee *) Then they came to let us into our pens. Our colour was last, and we got told that there had been a mistake and they had given out too many pink wristbands, so our pen was full. Which meant we ended up in another area (directly opposite the press) on second row. I had given up hope at that point to achieve anything then just seeing the actors.

Around 5pm the premiere started and Hanna Alström arrived first. She was very lovely and beautiful and I got her autograph, which wasn’t easy but we managed because the Asian people right in front of us were very kind (unlike other people who push and crush you or that guy who told us to get lost as we were “only second row”…).

There was, as always at such events, music and entertainment, and they had quite a few very cute pugs there! Actors and guests arrived one after the other, Edward, Taron and Emily, Mark, Colin and Livia, Jeff, Julianne, Pedro, Channing and Jenna, Matthew and Claudia, Elton, Halle, Sophie…

They made their way down the orange carpet (orange! My fav colour!) and alternated between press interviews and fan service and stage live interviews. We stood there admit the sun and rain and the screaming and waited. My feet and my back were killing me already!

Taron came by then. He looked fab in his grey three-piece suit and was his usual quirky self, making funny faces and laughing lots. I actually managed to get his autograph!

Unfortunately Mark, who had given interviews, couldn’t come back to us but started signing again at a different point of the crowd.

Colin had given an interview on the tiny stage with Taron and Elton. He had walked past us for that and signalled us that he’d come back but I thought that wouldn’t be likely. I was wrong. He did come back and he gave autographs and took pictures with all the fans like a pro. He was so calm and patient and never stopped smiling! A rock in the rough sea! He came closer and suddenly there was a gap in front of me and he signed my picture and I could look at him and asked for a photo! He nodded, leaned in and took my phone. I had forgotten to switch it to selfie mode so I fiddled around with the display while he held the phone and then he took the loveliest picture of me and him! I thanked him kindly and he went to the next person and I was done. My legs started shaking and I certainly didn’t feel like an adult woman in that moment…

The rest of the premiere pretty much passed me by. We saw on the big screen that especially Colin kept giving autographs and taking photos with the fans and he stayed extraordinarily polite and calm and kind all the time! Elle got a picture with Colin as well today and Krissie got one yesterday so we were quite happy.

The actors went into the cinema to introduce the film and then went into the second cinema a short while later to do the same there. They were all getting into cars after that and they probably had dinner together somewhere at the after-party.

We left the area and we asked twice if I could have a tiny bit of the orange carpet as a souvenir but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. Krissie was allowed to take one of the great KM poster canvas thingies though. ^^

I’m deadly tired but very happy and thankful right now. Thanks to Elle and Krissie for another great day in your company!

The photos I took aren’t that great as I was busy with autographs and surviving, and you find much better official ones, but I’ll add them to illustrate this report. Please don’t repost them anywhere!

“Meeting” Colin was my major goal for this trip and it actually happened when I had given up hope, so I’m more than happy at the moment!! :) And very tired. Off to bed. More fannish stuff tomorrow and then the film on Wednesday.

#kingsman #premiere #colin firth #taron egerton #london #kingsman 2 #report #red carpet #orange carpet #friends #mark strong #channing tatum #arlessiar meets #arlessiar's photos #arlessiar on the road #arlessiar speaking

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the-kool-kyle · 5 years

Text

Shazam! Review

It's been 6 years now since the DCEU began with Man of Steel and while most of the films have been either hit or miss recently we've seen DC movies really hit the mark with critics and fans such as Wonder-Woman and Aqua-Man. Now the DCEU's newest hero Shazam has been given his own movie. While most people aren’t all that familiar with the character this movie is probably the most fun, uplifting and joyful DC movie since the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie from 1978. It is packed full of great performances, easter eggs, important life messages and plenty of moments of action and fun.

The character Shazam (originally known as Captain Marvel) wasn't a DC comics creation and was instead first introduced in All American Whiz comics in 1940. Captain Marvel once over took Superman in popularity but due to copy right issues he eventually became part of the DC universe due to his many similarities to Superman. DC licensed the character in 1972 till they eventually bought him in 1991. They were also forced to change his name to “Shazam” due to the rise of Marvel comics and their own character of the same name. The character is basically a young orphan boy named Billy Batson who after being summoned by the wizard “Shazam” is given the powers of greek gods. Which consists of Solomon's wisdom, Hercules' strength, Atlas' stamina, Zeus' power, Achilles' courage and Mercury's speed. Which spells out “Shazam” nicely. Once this power was granted to Billy he simply needed to say the word “Shazam!” and he would transform into the grown up superhero champion with his red suit, lightning emblem and white cape. The reason the wizard chose Billy to become his champion was to fight injustice and cruelty, he believe that his power was best passed down to some young and pure of heart.Both of which Billy had. While the film did tweak a few things in the origin story it was still true to the source material and was more of a mix of both the original 1940 origin story and the DC New 52 origins. This film did and excellent job in bringing to life Shazam or “The Big Red Cheese” as he is known as a lighter version of Superman.

The best part of this film was the casting choices. The DCEU has made some really great decisions in choosing the actors to portray their characters and most of been complete success'. Zachary Levi was born to play as the superhero Shazam and looks exactly like the character as he is in the comics in his comic book accurate costume(despite the look change to the boots) it was totally worth the one million dollars it cost to make. Yep the Shazam suit cost 1 million dollars to make. He is just hilarious in most of the movie as he a grown man with god like superpowers and the mind of a teenager. Asher Angel plays Billy Batson very well as a brave, smart, kind but stubborn young boy who tries to find the family he's always wanted and learning many important lessons about life and being a superhero. These two actors as the same character were amazing and felt like the same person at times as if Zachary Levi really is a grown up Asher Angel.

Mark Strong plays as the film's villain “Dr Thaddeus Sivana. Unfortunately this bad guy came off as boring and underwhelming. However he did have understandable motives and good reasons for being evil which was explained every well in his origin story. So he wasn't all that bad.

The rest of the characters like Billy's best friend Freddy and his adoptive brothers and sisters such as Mary, Darla, Eugene and Pedro were all great and felt like a real family. Billy's crippled friend Freddy acts as the mentor and brains of Billy becoming a Superhero and is both a kind and funny kid. Mary the oldest and also awkward young adult who while doesn't have enough screen time still acts as the wise older sister and den mother that looks out for all of her foster siblings. Darla the young girl acts as the sweet innocent little sister who wants nothing more than to hug her family members. Eugene is the brains of the family and also something of a crazy nerd who yells a lot and plays video games. Pedro spends most of his time acting as the weird fat kid who doesn't talk much but eventually comes around.

Now the one thing a comic book movie can't do with out....action! Shazam succeeds in providing moments for action that feel like they were directly inspired from both the comics and the campy 1978 Superman movie. It blends well with the fast paced and well shot techniques of today to give us moments that felt really fresh and original. The one thing that's separates this movie from the rest of the DCEU is that it has heart felt moments that made us feel. Throughout his adventure Billy learns moral and important lessons about being a superhero, the importance of family and learning from his mistakes. Showing us that while being a superhero is the highest of honours it is also the greatest of all responsibilities.

Unfortunately there was one problem I had with this film it had a very slow and boring start. It took quite a while for anything fun or interesting to happen but if your patience like me that won't be much of problem.

Final Verdict: While Shazam isn’t a big of a deal or amazing as Wonder-Woman or Aqua-Man and does have a slow sluggish start it eventually becomes a joyful, fun movie with a light and happy tone we haven't seen in a comic book movie since the Christopher Reeve Superman movies that blends modern comic movie tropes with camp very well and the end result is effortlessly entertaining movie for everyone.

Final score 8/10

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privilege-archives · 7 years

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ALEXA LOPEZ ➝ SECOND SIBLING

I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN

❖ FULL NAME: Alexa Valéria Lopez. ❖ PRONOUNS: She/Her. ❖ AGE: 22. (November 12th). ❖ BIRTH ORDER: Second. ❖ GRADE: Junior. ❖ MAJOR: Dance. ❖ SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual. ❖ ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Demiromantic. ❖ FACECLAIM: Naya Rivera.

I'LL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL YOU LOVE ME

Born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles, Alexa is a total city girl through and through. Right from her take-no-crap attitude, down to her party animal, life loving ways, there’s no mistaking this Lopez’s routes. Despite the fact that they hadn’t planned on children so soon after getting married, Maribel and Pedro took to parenthood as well as they could. Not that Alexa gave them much choice, being a total handful right from the start. They were busy people, but from birth, Alexa made sure that she’d always have the attention she needed, and she’d never go ignored or fade into the background. She was one of those babies that cried loud enough for the patients at the other side of the hospital to get an earache when she made her entrance into the big wide world, though that was basically the last of her crying. A happy baby, she smiled the most, laughed the loudest, and never gave her parents time to breathe. Alexa demanded full attention, without even realizing it, and that was something that she never managed to shake. She wanted to be her own person before she even knew what individuality was, in fact.

One of Alexa’s earliest memories was appearing on a talk show with her parents, and completely stealing the show. She had one of those obnoxious, contagious giggles that had the audience laughing right along with her. She had a lot of energy, and despite being told to sit in her seat, she spent most of her time there running back and forth across the stage. Maribel and Pedro were kind of pissed, but they didn’t let it show. She was their firstborn, after all, so they were obviously kind of obsessed with her. That didn’t make her any less of a handful, though, and many an afternoon would be spent with her Abuela, when her parents just couldn’t handle their precious little handful. It was Abuela, in fact, who decided eventually that something needed to be done about the little girl. Sure, the older woman could handle her rebellious nature, but she knew she had to help out her son and his wife, so after a little research into the best ones in the area, she enrolled Alexa in dance classes. It started out with just ballet, and from the moment her pink ballet pump touched that hard wood floor, Alexa was hooked. Nobody could believe the amount of discipline that little girl could have, even if it was just for the short hour she was in ballet class. Alexa loved it, and her parents and grandmother loved that they’d found a way to control her, if only for the time she was there.

With Alexa outgrowing the rest of the girls in her class with her natural ability, Abuela enrolled her granddaughter in other classes, such as jazz and hip hop, and once again, Alexa loved it. Before long, she was appearing in recitals and her family would be the ones in the crowd clapping and cheering the loudest for their tearaway little girl, and Alexa loved the attention. She thrived on the applause, and as she grew, so did her ability. She could captivate an entire room whenever she broke out into a dance routine, and despite her young age she, as well as everybody around her, knew that she’d found her calling. By the time Alexa was twelve years old, she’d been in numerous competitions, both solo and group, and she’d won more first place ribbons and trophies than she knew what to do with. Dance was something that shaped Alexa’s life entirely, and she’s thankful for it every day. Still, outside of the dance studio, her behavior never really improved.

Sure, Alexa was a nice girl. She was bubbly, friendly, polite when she wanted to be. Total Lopez charm. She was still one to never allow herself to be tamed, though, and from the moment she got her first fake ID, she and her friends would frequent bars and clubs that they really shouldn’t have been in, but they weren’t harming anyone. They’d drink, but not excessively, and they’d just enjoy the all around atmosphere. It was at one of these bars where Alexa was spotted by a man with a plan. Though still only sixteen, she and her friends were regulars by this point, and they had the bar staff wrapped around their little fingers. Whenever the place was quiet, they’d get full control of the sound system, and this one night, they’d done just that. Alexa and a friend were dancing to their chosen song, when an older man approached them, making a beeline for Alexa. He told her about a new club he was opening, where he was looking for pole dancers, and he just knew he had to have her be one of them. Keeping her age a secret, she accepted the offer, and the rest was history.

Working in the club was great. It gave Alexa all of the attention she craved, as well as gave her yet another reason to dance outside of her many dance classes. She got paid for it, too. Not that money was an issue, but it was cool to make her own, rather than always having to ask her parents for the things she wanted. The advantages were endless, and even when the owner found out she was underage, he let the information slide, because Alexa was one of his best. She was a crowd favorite, and he wasn’t about to give that up. However, when she turned eighteen, she had to pry herself away from the place, because it was time for college, and despite her love for her hometown, she knew she needed to get out of there and do something huge. Taking off her clothes and dancing on a pole was great, but it wasn’t the career she wanted. Alexa’s life plan had been to dance back up for someone big, then she’d eventually ditch to become a choreographer for the stars, someplace worthy like New York City or back home in Los Angeles. She needed the qualifications under her belt first, though, and not just the experience.

There were plenty of schools that caught Alexa’s attention. Most of them in New York, and when Alexa visited, she loved the vibe and the thrill of the big city. She checked out schools like Tisch and Juilliard, both of which had specifically scouted her. Juilliard was a great school, but the atmosphere just didn’t fit what she wanted. NYU: Tisch’s Performing Arts program was something Alexa could put to use, though. It’d qualify her to dance in shows, which would be great for her plan to backup dance, and she knew the school was one of the best around. So, she wrote up an application, sent in an audition tape, and soon she was being called in for a real audition. Naturally, Alexa sailed through it with flying colors, and she received her acceptance letter soon after. Sure, it kind of sucked to have to leave LA, but Alexa was sure this was the right move for her, so she grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

To begin with, Alexa fit into college life naturally. With her talkative, bubbly nature, she had no problem adjusting, but she soon began to realize people weren’t as genuine as those she was used to. From kindergarten, Alexa had attended private schools, right through to high school, and nobody really made too much of a big deal about who she was, since there were a lot of other ‘famous’ students there, too. College, however, was a whole other ballgame. There had been a huge buzz around Alexa’s acceptance to Tisch ever since she’d posted an Instagram update about it, but it wasn’t until she actually started her freshman year there that she realized how terrible of an idea it had been to try to attend a normal school. The students were worse than the paparazzi; constantly swarming Alexa and trying to hang out. She had no time to herself, and while she usually would’ve liked the attention, this was suffocating, and she couldn’t cope with having absolutely zero privacy. As much as it killed her to drop out of her dream school, Alexa only lasted a few months before she was packing her bags and heading back out to California.

Despite her terrible college experience, Alexa was absolutely not ready to give up on her dream. She needed to continue her studies, and become the best dancer she could be. So, although it had never been on her list of places to attend, Alexa applied to Pacific State, knowing they had the artistic programs available to suit her needs, and was accepted for the fall semester. This put her a year behind, but that wasn’t a problem. Getting her old job back took absolutely no effort. It seemed, however, that whatever job Alexa had, someone would always want her for something more. Just like that night in the bar, when her current boss had found her and invited her to work for him, an almost repeat happened one night in the club. It was all in a night’s work for a stripper to flirt with the clients, and in an effort to keep one of the more wealthy clients around, Alexa put her game into full motion, pulling out all the stops. They talked for most of the night, until eventually he divulged his line of work to her, obviously assuming he could trust her. He’d been right, Alexa wasn’t one to spread people’s secrets, and before long, he’d hooked her in. The Lopez family are obviously wealthy, so two jobs weren’t exactly necessary on top of college, but Alexa barely thought twice about taking up his offer of working on the side as one of the escorts in his escort service.

As of right now, she doesn’t sleep with the clients, she’s just there to accompany them on dates and is total arm candy for them, and she gets paid a pretty penny for it. She gets fed, too, so it’s basically a win win for her. Especially since she has managed to keep it a secret so far, worrying that it might damage her reputation as one of the best young dancers around if anyone was to find out. Lately, her boss has begun to get a little pushy for her to do more than just link arms with the guys she escorts, but Alexa is yet to budge. She can hold her own, and doesn’t need the extra money it’d bring her. It’s all fun and games for now. Until it’s not, of course, but she believes she’s tough enough to not have to worry about that. Perhaps she’s just a little naive or something.

BABY, THERE'S NO OTHER SUPERSTAR

Alexa has long, dark hair, with the ends dyed a subtle caramel color, pretty much down to her butt, and she usually wears it down and with its natural wave. Occasionally, she’ll curl it, but only for special events such as nights out or dance competitions, if the requirements allow it. For the most part, during the day, she dresses casually, opting for things like skinny jeans, cute shirts and casual day dresses. Night time is a different story, though, if she’s going out. Alexa likes to show off what she calls her ‘dancers abs’, so she’ll wear tiny, tight-fitting tops that show them off perfectly, with things like booty shorts, that can barely be considered shorts. Sometimes, however, she’ll go with a tight-fitting dress, and usually, the shorter the better. She likes her body, and sees nothing wrong with showing it off. Alexa has her ears pierced twice, as well as her navel, and has one tattoo; a small, pink bow at the top of her back, just below her neck.

YOU KNOW THAT I'LL BE YOUR PAPARAZZI

Maribel and Pedro are both famous actors, who were cast as love interests toward the start of Pedro’s career. The two shared a management team, and to put his name on the map, they were asked to date as a publicity stunt. They quickly fell in love and a real romance begun, with the two marrying and starting a family soon after. They’re still big names and very active in the acting world today.

#privalexa #privlopez

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freebestbettingtips · 5 years

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Tactical Analysis and Statistics: Copa del Rey: Levante vs Barcelona

New Post has been published on https://bestfreebettingtips.com/tactical-analysis-and-statistics-copa-del-rey-levante-vs-barcelona/

Tactical Analysis and Statistics: Copa del Rey: Levante vs Barcelona

Artwork by @chapulana

Although it might not be every club’s, or every fan’s, favourite competition, the Copa del Rey manages to surprise us every year. While it is not a surprise that smaller clubs beat the bigger ones, it always brings a special flavour along the way. Barcelona travelled to Valencia to face the other Blaugrana of La Liga, Levante and experienced a déjà vu of some sorts.

The Frogs have once again successfully leapt over the Catalan giants to secure a huge win at Estadi Ciutat de València but the away team got one back in the final stretch to keep their hopes of a yet another title defence alive and kicking.

This tactical analysis will use statistics to explain how the underdog overthrew the favourite in an open battle for the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Lineups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Cillessen – Semedo, Murillo, Chumi, Miranda – Aleña, Busquets, Vidal – Malcom, Dembele, Coutinho

Bench: Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Wague, Arthur, Denis, Puig, Sergi

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Levante (3-5-2)

Starting XI: Aitor – Mayoral, Chema, Simon, Prcic, Coke, Postigo, Rochina, Cabaco, Boateng, Campaña

Bench: Koke Vegas, Toño Garcia, Doukoure, Morales, Pedro Lopez, Raphael, Jason

Coach: Paco Lopez

Barcelona’s set-up

The first part of the season is now firmly behind us and the hectic schedule for those who want to compete on all fronts starts now and is not going to slow down anytime soon. Barcelona are one of those contenders that chase the famous treble but this time, Ernesto Valverde has decided to prioritize Champions League over the cup.

This resulted in a completely shuffled deck without many of the big names. Jasper Cillessen was back between the sticks and was guarded by a completely new back-four that saw the debut of Jeison Murillo in a completely new partnership with Chumi, the Barcelona B defender, and with Semedo and Miranda on the full-back positions.

Sergio Busquets was the captain on the night in a midfield trio with Vidal and Alena. The front-three comprised Malcom, Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho. On paper, the Catalans operated in a 4-3-3 formation but swapped through different systems during the game.

Levante’s set-up

The hosts also decided to rest some of their key players but approached this game with maximum intensity and determination. The main man in front of the goal was Aitor Fernandez who had the experienced Postigo to marshal the defence in front with Cabaco and Chema.

The middle of the park was highly congested with a total of five players mostly occupying those positions, depending on Rochina who was playing just behind the front line. Campana was the only member of that four-man squad that is a regular first-team player while the front tandem was made of Mayoral and Boateng.

Levante operated in a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-1-2 system throughout the whole game with some exceptions depending on the situation on the field.

The cost of rotation

Ernesto Valverde is very well known for his tendency to not rotate the team, no matter what the situation currently is. Last year that meant that Barcelona got to lift the Copa del Rey trophy once again but the Catalans paid the price in the Champions League instead.

This time around, a different price was paid as the guests fielded a highly inexperienced squad that is not used to playing together. What followed was actually mostly expected but still disappointing.

Barcelona were not on the same page, which was seen from the very beginning but continued on throughout the whole game. “Only” 536 completed passes is below average for the Catalans and 94 losses of the ball might be the most glaring stats to prove that point.

Barcelona’s losses of the ball and the areas in which they happened. On the right, players with the most losses are shown.

Notice how the majority of lost balls happened in midfield (39%), and even the pillars of the team like Sergio Busquets were prone to errors. The Octopus of Badia was actually the one directly responsible for the first goal that happened extremely early in the game.

Busi fails to cover his man after a set-piece, and Cabaco rattles the net after just three minutes of play in Valencia. Barcelona’s weaknesses with set-pieces continued in Thursday’s game but the Catalans were not solely vulnerable in the air.

The problem with the midfield was partly in the personnel but also partly in the style and the system that was implemented. Sergio Busquets would regularly slot in-between the centre-backs for support while the full-backs would act as wing-backs to form a sort of 3-4-3 system when attacking.

Busquets would drop in-between the centre-backs but had no one to come collect the ball and carry it forward. As a result, the connection between the midfield and defence was extremely weak. Notice how much free space there is, and how there are no real passing options. In those situations, the press always yields a clearance or a goal-kick, which is exactly what Levante want.

The midfield-four would then comprise of Vidal, Alena, Miranda, and Semedo but the gap between the back line and the middle of the park was not covered by anyone. Notice in the image above how upon Levante’s press, no Barcelona player comes to collect the ball or give Cillessen a chance to build from the back.

As a result, the Dutchman has to clear the ball and send it far away up the pitch where Barcelona did not have a real target man to collect it. That was the second problem they faced or actually third if we count incoherence as one as well.

In this system, without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, the front-three was made out of three wingers of sorts and Dembele had to compensate for the Uruguayan. While the Frenchman could do the job done fairly well, his off-the-ball movement and the impact Suarez usually has was lacking glaringly.

Barcelona’s front three had no natural striker and no target man. Both Coutinho and Malcom would often cut inside so any real width had to come from the full-backs.

Both Malcom and Coutinho would in general cut inside to occupy their respective half-spaces which would mean that the only real width came from the full-backs who were more of true wing-backs in those cases. Whether it was the pure inexperience in that position or something else, Dembele couldn’t give the team the attacking edge he usually provides.

The attacking trio was also a bit cut off the rest of the team, as can be seen in the pass map below. Dembele was the one furthest up the pitch but his communication with the midfield is non-existent, as is the one between the other two forwards.

Barcelona’s pass map.

Malcom only managed 10 passes with a low 58% success rate while Dembele and Coutinho were the players with most loses of the ball in the game with 13 and 12 respectively. Not really a great day in the office for the “new guys.”

The courageous hosts

Levante is by now a very well known thorn in Barcelona’s side. Sure, they themselves received a thrashing not so long ago in La Liga but the extraordinary 5-4 victory to take the “invincibles” title from the Catalan last season will not soon be forgotten.

Back then, they played attractive, open football and created and finished numerous chances. Thursday’s clash was not so different. Out of possession, Levante would press heavily and try to outnumber the opposition in a quick manner.

Congesting the midfield was key to cut off any threatening passing lanes. Pressing intensely and purposely was also key in executing this tactic.

Whether it was pressing the goalkeeper for a goal-kick or congesting the midfield to cut any passing lines, the Frogs of Valencia have done a great job at containing the opposition and setting up fast transitions.

Intercepting the passes, like in the image above, and forcing mistakes gave them chances for breaks and deadly counters.

Numerical superiority pays off once again as Levante capitalize on a misplaced pass.

Once again, notice how many home players surround the opposition when they are trying to build-up the play. The progress of the ball is almost impossible without long passes or through the air, either by goal kicks or clearances. Barcelona’s inefficiency in the air meant that Levante would benefit from those.

The unlikely heroes

As much as this Barcelona squad lacked cohesion and coordination, there were some bright moments as Carles Alena, Denis Suarez and Jeison Murillo showed some quality. The middle man, Denis, who is more likely going to leave this January was impressive in particular.

His Messi-esque run to get his team in a great position and eventually, to win the penalty that gave them the away goal, was maybe the highlight of their play. Still, the new man in defence was also solid and probably the best piece of the defensive puzzle.

Three clearances and three interceptions for Murillo along with 11 duels won made for a great debut, albeit in a pretty experimental back four, if we can even say that the Catalans had four defenders present at all times at all.

On the other side of the pitch was Borja Maroyal, the Real Madrid boy who had an inspiring night against the best possible opponents. It was not only the goal but also how key he was in the hosts’ attack.

Alongside rattling the net, he also gave two key passes and created one big chance. We can also see from the pass map how crucial he was in the system and for the victory itself.

Levante’s passmap.

Conclusion

Not all is lost for Barcelona as they head into the second leg that is to be played on 17 January at the Camp Nou, the Catalan’s fortress. The away goal from Philippe Coutinho means that there is a lot more football to be played between these two teams and more thrill to come.

There are also positives to draw from Thursday’s defeat. Key first-team players have been rested and some other players made the most out of this chance they got. Now it’s up to Messi and co. to seal the deal and bring the team back to Copa glory.

If you love tactical analysis, then you’ll love the digital magazines from totalfootballanalysis.com – a guaranteed 100+ pages of pure tactical analysis covering topics from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and many, many more. Get your copy of the FIRST of two December issues for just ₤4.99 here, or the SECOND of the December issues with an annual membership right here. Alternatively, you can pre-order the January issue NOW! It lands on Friday 18 January.

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legacyofhopefdn · 7 years

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Remember when?

At 5:00 am on the day we had to leave Honduras, the kids and I and two precious friends piled into a busito and headed north toward the coast. As we whizzed by small towns, banana trees, and men on bicycles carrying truckloads of wood, someone kick-started our storytelling tradition with the words, “Remember when…” Long car rides are great for remembering when, even if you’re all smooshed into a busito carrying 15 people across Central America. I loved hearing from my people all about their memories of Silver Dollar City, the beach, what they loved about our house in Georgia, and the funny things they did that they never told me about. The heat, the road noise, the wind from the open windows, and the chitter chatter from the back all add character to a new story the Lord is weaving into the one’s he’s been writing with us, a new story that someone will kickstart one day with the words “remember when…”

Remember when we had to leave Honduras in a hurry and so we smooshed into a busito and drove to Belize?

We arrived in Honduras on January 19th and entered the country on 90-day visitor’s visas, with the intension of applying for residency during our first 90 days. We weren’t able to file as planned, though. We just didn’t have enough money. In the months before our move to Honduras, we had created a budget and raised funds, but it didn’t take us long to figure out that we were underfunded. It was a rookie mistake, a first time missionary miscalculation. At times Dean and I lay next to each other late at night and wondered if our rookie mistake was really a misstep, but then something like this trip to Belize is woven into the storyline and we are certain we’re abiding in the shadow of the Almighty.

Before we had to go to Belize, we were able to get a 30-day extension on our visas in April. Dean and I made the trip to San Pedro Sula to make the application to immigration. We left before sunup, and I’m glad because it was a long day filled with copy-making, lines, and waiting. Praise God, we walked out of the immigration office that day with 30 more days to pray and ask for guidance about what to do next.

When May 14th rolled around and we were still short on funds, we knew that plans had to be made for a trip out of the country. I spent a quick minute teetering on the edge of panic, in part because we were so confident that this trip would be unnecessary that Dean was in the States attending to some business. I was certain I was going to end up carrying 11 children by myself across the ocean in a banana boat headed for Belize. I had heard rumors that the boat is nicknamed the Vomit Rocket. Dread began to envelop me as the hours of that Sunday night ticked by. Here’s the thing, I really want to be that girl that was praying and telling the Lord, “I trust you, Lord, Your promises and Your plans, whatever they are,” but there was a moment in the night on May 14th when I was that girl praying, “Please, Lord, no.”

I woke up on Monday praying. I was done asking why and peace had replaced the dread from the night before. That’s one good thing about being awakened by prayer. When my eyes opened, my friend Lisa immediately came to mind. It was a little odd, actually, because we hadn’t chatted in long while. There with my head still on my pillow and Lisa’s family floating around up there in my mind, I remembered that she was involved in some mission work in Belize, and since I was thinking about a little boat trip to Belize anyway, it made sense that we should connect. I shot her a FaceBook message that went a little something like this: “I know this is going to sound like a strange request but I’m needing a little help in Belize.”

When I told Lisa what was going on, she put me in touch with some friends of hers who flung open their doors, set the dinner table, made up the spare beds, and said, “Come on over”, all for some strangers from Honduras. So we did.

A well-timed, seriously divine, post on social media gave me the idea to try to rent a van instead of taking the boat. Dean had rented a van before from a lady who lived right around the corner, so I gave her a ring. I got to thinking about what it would be like to drive across Central America by myself with the kids, so I asked the owner of the van if she had a driver available, and she did! All the details quickly fell into place, and soon the van and motorista Don Jorge were confirmed. The more the merrier is how we roll, so we asked our friends Ellie and Marta to come along with us, too. They said, “yes”, of course, because going on an 18-hour car ride across Central America with 11 kids smooshed into a busito sounded like the most fun ever. By the time we crossed the border and entered Belize, I was certain that God had something important for us there. If we had been able to apply for our residency, we would’ve missed it since we wouldn’t have needed to go to Belize in the first place.

Have you ever been to Belize? It’s cooler than a pack of peppermints. Your car will be freshly fumigated for diseases as you exit Guatemala and enter Belize, but don’t scratch your head too long about that strange happening or you’ll miss the tailgate, complete with pickup trucks, coolers, lawn chairs and cases of beer, all going on in the parking lot of Belize’s Border Control. It was quite the sight, especially after spending all day long in the busito watching banana fields and sweet Guatemalan villages pass by.

Heads up, it seems a tad unusual for a woman to travel with 11 children across Central America without her husband. God’s hand was upon us, and it all worked out for His glory, but we were detained at border control and customs for a minute or two or 120. I don’t know what they thought we were up to, but they kept saying, “We’ve just never seen anything like this before.” I am truly glad they are careful when it comes to the safety of children, especially given that there are some horrible things happening to children in this world. Eventually they determined we were on the up and up, gave us the entry stamp on our passports, and let us in. Make sure you have a little money on hand in case you need to tinkle. It’s about $0.50 a person, which adds up when you have a big group. Ellie was guarding the little ones while I was detained, and she didn’t have any cash on her. Thankfully a nice gentleman paid the $5.50 so our people could “go”, because the potty guard wasn’t letting anyone through with no money, no matter what.

We hit another little snafu as we exited border control. It seems you cannot drive in Belize without purchasing their insurance policy, even if it’s after 9 pm and there is nothing open. We had to drive around town looking for someone to sell us insurance before we could head to our destination. I met a guy in line at the liquor store who knew this guy who sells the insurance. I know it sounds odd – that I was in line at a liquor store. It’s uncharacteristic of me, I know, but that’s what was open, and I needed to ask for help. I still can’t believe we did this, but when the guy I met in line at the liquor store told me he knew a guy who sold insurance, I thanked him so much, got back in the van, and we followed him down the dark streets of Belize to a stranger’s house. The stranger wasn’t home but there was this other guy who said could meet us back at the liquor store, so we were able to buy the insurance. I filled out the forms, paid the guy about $20, and we were on our way again. I recommend learning the words to the Fruits of the Spirit song before your busito adventure. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all needed in abundance, my friends.

We arrived in Camalote around 11:00 pm. Our phones no longer worked once we crossed into Belize, and there was no where to find WIFI, so we couldn’t call for directions when we couldn’t find our way. No worries though, we pulled into the only place we saw that was open to ask for directions, and they unstacked the chairs and invited us to sit a spell while they called the camp director. I kept looking at Ellie and thinking, “Oh my, her parents entrusted her to us and within just a few months we’re hanging out in front of the One Barrel Bar.” The owners were the sweetest and in no time the director of Camalote Camp was there to show us the way. Even though it was almost midnight when we rolled into camp, the staff met us and fed us and made us feel welcome. The beds were made, the AC was hopping, and I fell asleep in utter amazement of what the Lord had for us there. The body of Christ is the only way to describe our experience. We met so many Jesus loving people and experienced God’s lovingkindness is so many unexpected ways during the three short days we spent in Belize.

There’s much more to share but this post is already long, so you’ll have to come back for part two. I always hate it when bloggers do that, but now I get you long-winded bloggers and your two parted posts. Sometimes the story is just too good to skip parts to make it fit in one post. Glory be to God for getting us to Camalote Camp.

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celticnoise · 7 years

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What makes a great comedy?

Brilliant writing for one. And at Ibrox, the script is always so juicy, and full of surprises that whoever is charge of the writing for them, Upstairs, has to be one Hell of a scribe, with a world class wit and a sense of timing that is just fantastic.

You also need great locations; they are more important to comedy than you might at first think. How many Friends episodes revolve around The Coffee House? Cheers takes place in a bloody bar. How many Only Fools episodes concern that evolving disaster of a flat, or are based on events down at the Nags Head? Ibrox is a fine location, and so too is Hampden. But you also get episodes in dingy boozers and dramatic scenes in courtrooms.

Above all else, you need a great cast of characters because comedy is about stuff that happens to people. Stuff people do. There are different sorts of comedy; situation comedy is perhaps the best known, and the most fun to watch. Satire can be incredible though, such as The Office or The Thick Of It. Farce has produced magical results, as anyone who ever watched Fawlty Towers or Father Ted could verify between gales of laughter.

There is no finer group of comedy performers than at Ibrox, and they have managed, somehow, to combine every possible comic genre in one show and make it not only work but be one of the most compelling we have ever witnessed.

And it is bloody hilarious.

Pedro Caixinha is the latest individual to join the cast, and the episodes about him so far have hinted at true greatness to come.

There are some comedy shows whose genius is evident from the first; you see it in them at once.

It was there in the opening moments of Porridge and in the debut of The Royle Family. Others took time. I would argue, for example, that it took three episodes – until Cash And Curry, where the brothers get involved in a dispute between two Indian gentlemen over a statue – before you realised you were watching, in Only Fools, a show that was going to last, and which went on to become the gold standard of the entire genre.

I loved Chewin’ The Fat, and the idea of a spin-off was a winner, but in choosing Jack and Victor I thought the boys had made a huge mistake. I couldn’t see how it could be sustained. I didn’t see where the magic was coming from, and yet, like with Porridge, once you watched the first episode of Still Game you knew Ford and Greg had it, that they knew exactly what they were doing and that your doubts had been ridiculous.

This is like that. I knew when Pedro was hired that it was going to be special.

All the pieces are in place to make it so.

From the resignation-sacking of Warburton and his backroom team this has dripped with opportunities of gold. When the board decided, in the wake of Murty’s bad start, to speed up the process and hire someone quick you could see the opportunity for something fit to bust a gut.

When Pedro’s name surfaced and the first thing we found out about him was that his team was fifth in Qatar you shook your head and thought “No way … too much to hope for.” When it was revealed that he was a not-so-secret Tim that was wonderful and you knew then someone else would get the gig. When the papers said it was a done deal and those pictures of him in his green and white hoops came to light, that was the cherry on the cake.

You knew the Ibrox casting team had produced again. You knew they were onto an instant classic. I thought this one might be a slow burner, like Auf Weidershen Pet, which took the time to develop the characters before hitting its stride with some of the finest stuff ever put on the telly, or the Warburton seasons where it only started to become “must watch TV” towards the end, but this one has exceeded my expectations by a fair bit already.

From six day out of seven training and playing, to cutting the pre-season short and spoiling one of his player’s honeymoon into the bargain, to his three subs at half time strategy to beat Motherwell and his naming the Kilmarnock team with 30 hours to go before kick-off … this one looks every bit as brilliant in execution as it did on paper.

He’s already blown his alibi of course. He said when he was unveiled that he had the best team in the country at his disposal; ergo he doesn’t need big bucks for new players. Cue fielding three kids last night, as the implications of that set in.

He said he was targeting second spot and the Scottish Cup. Now his team looks dead and buried as far as the first goes – and fighting a bare knuckle brawl just to get third – and disaster in the cup looms on the not-too-distant horizon, if the script plays out as it should.

There are already whispers of players groaning under the weight of the new training regimen and others who claim they can’t understand his instructions. They do seem rather baffling; he cycled through various tactical permutations last night without settling on any one, and they were all equally useless in breaking down Kilmarnock.

As a smarter person than me once said, “Confused? You won’t be after the next episode …”at the end of which you were usually even more baffled.

The fans don’t rate this guy; that means he gets no benefit of the doubt when things go wrong. They will expect to see improvement – even instant improvement; that doesn’t happen. Even Brendan lost his first match in charge – and some sort of a plan, but they will not wait around for it. If Aberdeen beat them, followed by a cup knockout, the hard questions will already be getting asked at a team when the season ticket forms are going out.

Today Phil has suggested that Caixinha was hired, in part, because he gave the Sevco board false reason to believe he was in good with wealthy Arab “investors”. Imagine that turns out to be true; that would be up there with Kicking Bishop Brennan Up The Arse or any of the nuttier episodes where Basil goes off the deep end and starts slapping Manuel.

You hear some of this stuff and think, “Surely not …”

But this is Ibrox we’re talking about, and those words just don’t apply.

Caixinha is already under scrutiny.

It won’t be long before he’s under pressure.

At another club he might get time – most Hearts fans are frustrated beyond belief with Cathro, and you can hear the steady ticking of the Death Clock in the background, but it’s low, below conversation volume, because the majority will grant him that – but this isn’t a normal club with normal fans and realistic expectations.

This is Sevco. Who’s fans believe in the Survival Myth and who don’t understand that Rangers itself was like an optical illusion, artificially inflated by Murray and the bank.

Listen, this might all turn out well for them over there. This could be like one of those funny shows which takes a really serious (usually stupid) turn to give everyone a happy ending. But then it again, it could end like Soap did, with a bang ….

I suspect that’s exactly how it’ll turn out.

In the meantime, I’ll just sit back and enjoy the entertainment.

“So, will Caixinha prove to be a managerial genius? Will King ride off into the sunset with Club 1872’s money? Will the SFA grow some guts or will the next President of the Association be John “WATP” Gilligan? Will Keith Jackson ask a critical question of these people? Or will Brendan ride to ten in a row on the back of poor Chris Graham?”

These questions – and many others – will be answered in the next episode …

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